The Dance
by wakaba-chan
Summary: Part 22 is up...finally! Find out the REAL reason Matt abruptly stopped the song (as if you didn't know already), and how Sora feels about both Tai and Matt. Please R&R!
1. Default Chapter

The Dance

by [wakaba-chan][1]

> Ah, at last: my crowning acheivement. I have created this introduction so that you will understand what this story is about, and the comprehensive history behind The Dance. If you don't give to shits, go on to the first chapter.
> 
> This story first started out as a challenge to me, by a friend who shall remain nameless (yes, you, Phil). Because I was writing so many yaoi fics, he challenged me to write a Digimon fanfic without any yaoi or citrus at all. Now, for those who know me, this is incredibly difficult (except for Chicken Soup For The DigiDestined's Soul, but that just happened to be fun to write). But, I accepted the challenge, and I took it a step further, and made it into The Dance.
> 
> The Dance is set three years after 02 - and oh yeah, **Episode 50 IS NOT taken into account. I HATE EPISODE 50.** All the Japanese DigiDestined, past and present, are enrolled in Odaiba High, an extended high school which includes grades 7, which Cody is in, to grade 12, or seniors, which would be Joe. Every year, Odaiba High has a dance to celebrate Youth Day, a national holiday celebrated on May 16. (I don't really know if it is actually on May 16, but it seemed like a good enough day to make it). Anyone from the ages of 13 to 18 is allowed to go; if you are younger than that, you can attend the Youth Day Carnival, which happens in Odaiba Square.
> 
> This Youth Day, suspense is in the air, as tensions between the DigiDestined rise. From the Monday morning before the dance all the way to Wednesday night, questions arise over what will become of these thirteen individuals. Will the night go as they planned? Who will end up together? Who will get ripped apart? Who will end up heartbroken by the night's end? And, most importantly, who's going to get laid?
> 
> This story has six parts to it: six different plots that are all intertwined, making this a very interesting story, and my life a living hell until I finish it. Each DigiDestined is present and accounted for, and even a spiky red-haired annoyance pops up in the story. The story is told in the points of view of everyone, from Tai to TK to Ken, and even June. (No, don't leave!)
> 
> If some of this looks familiar, it's because it is. My OTHER non-yaoi fic, Davis's Dance, is a small portion of this very, VERY long story. So now, you know what you're in for!
> 
> Now For The Disclaimer:
> 
> 1. **This is a romance fic.** That means that there are DigiDestined pairings in this story that you might not agree with. In fact, I can almost guarantee there will be shipping that turns the stomach. But hey, you can't please everyone all the time, and I'd much rather please myself than you, anyway.
> 
> 2. **WARNING. THE TREATMENT OF THE MOTOMIYAS LIKE HUMANS.** Yes. I like June. She's spunky. And her hair is not weird. And yes, I like Davis. He's adorable, in that pathetic kind of way. So no bashing of the Motomiyas in reviews, please. Unless it's about headgear...
> 
> 3. **There is minor lime content in this story.** Okay, so I couldn't make it all non-hentai. There is a bit of lime in this story; mostly, there's no details, nor will there ever be. This was my challenge, and I plan to stick to it. But if I can't get T.K. topless, then it was just a wasted effort.
> 
> 4. **There is minor shounen-ai in this fic.** Okay, so I said no yaoi, either...well, it's not! Shounen-ai is translated into "boy love," and that is so not yaoi in my book. The shounen-ai content in this story is minimal, and I tried to steer clear away from it, but it just kept hitting me in the face and...:::sighs::: I did not lose this bet, I did not lose this bet...
> 
> 5. **Um...angsty much?** This story is a bit angsty, which means that there's a lot of talking about your emotions and crap like that... ^_^ But there's also a lot of action, a lot of humor, and a lot of doubletakes that I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Now, I have a strict review policy for this story: if I find that there is no one reading this story, **I WILL DELETE IT**. No kidding. I'm not busting my ass to put this story up on ff.n. Here is my policy: **ONLY WHEN THERE ARE AT LEAST 10 REVIEWS ON A SECTION WILL I POST UP ANOTHER SECTION.** There are no exceptions to this rule. Sorry if you like the story; if you really do, and I delete it, then just e-mail me and I'll send it to you through that.
> 
> And, with no further adieu...
> 
> The Dance.

   [1]: mailto:darkrosewakaba@aol.com



	2. Part One: Monday Morning

The Dance  
Monday Morning

Remember: I won't post the next part to this story until I get 10 reviews, so R&R, please!

* * *

> **8:19 A.M.  
Monday 14 May  
Odaiba High**

Sora

"Um, Sora?"

I looked up from my physics homework - which I hadn't done the night before - to see Tai's caramel eyes staring back at me, a sense of worry etched on his face. It was a few minutes before first period physics class, and when I had decided to come in early to finish my homework, Tai had come with me, and now, even though I wasn't noticing it since that moment, he had been standing near my desk for the past five minutes, waiting patiently for my attention.

"Yeah, Tai?" I asked, my brows furrowing in confusion. It was strange enough that Tai had walked me to class early - it always seemed like Tai went out of his way to get to class late. What would have possessed him to wait like that for me, for so long? "Is something wrong?"

Tai's expression wiped from his face, and he shook his head, a little embarrassed. "Oh...no, nothing's wrong," he replied. "It's just...well..."

"What is it, Tai?" Tai saying that nothing was wrong didn't convince me any. He was acting so strange...he seemed to be at a loss for words. Tai was never at a loss for words. On the contrary; he was usually the one to say what was on his mind before ever thinking about what was coming out of his mouth. Something was definitely strange about him today...

"The Odaiba Youth Day Dance is Wednesday, as you know...and, well, I know you don't have a date yet...so..."

Tai's cheeks blushed a deep red, which totally freaked me out. Tai was...embarrassed? Since when was Tai ever self-conscious? I wasn't even listening to the words coming out of his mouth...the words that, for years, I had wanted to hear pass Tai's lips. I had known Tai for the longest time, and ever since I could remember, we had always gone together to the Youth Day Dance or the Youth Day Carnival when we were younger...but we had never gone _together_. I had always dreamed that Tai would ask me one day...but now, why was I almost ignoring him, instead of falling off my chair in excitement?

A certain seventeen-year old blonde walked in the door, and I remembered why.

My gaze immediately turned to him, taking in his almost breathless good looks, from his tousled blonde hair to his crystal blue eyes all the way down to his...well, um..._shoes_. He was the epitome of beauty, and every girl at Odaiba High wanted him, but no one could ever attract his attention. Believe me; I had known him for six years, and even though I personally wasn't trying to vie for his attention that whole time, a lot of other girls were, and I've seen them all fail.

I was lucky, I guess; I was one of the few people who got to know the real person behind the loner/artist persona of his. Inside, I really knew that Japanese god was a hurt little boy, who had feelings and sensitivities just like the rest of us, and maybe, even more. I not only was one of the few girls to be able to have a conversation with Odaiba High's resident heartthrob, but I was one of his best friends.

Best friends...

I shook the thoughts of him and me ever being together out of my head. We were best friends, and that would all we ever would be. I was never this gone over him before...I never really noticed how attractive he was. I don't know when I started looking at him in a different light, but...it was about the same time I stopped seeing Tai in that same kind of light.

"Wh...what were you saying, Tai?" I asked, snapping back to attention to the perfectly polite (well, sometimes), perfectly good-looking (when he combed his hair and showered), perfectly fine guy who had just begun to ask me out. My attention was fully on him...even though one eye still followed the gorgeous blond around the room.

Tai saw that I had stopped to look at the other guy in the room, and his mood changed from shy and embarrassed to his regular, confident self. "Go to the dance with me," he said forcefully, loud enough for the few people already in the room - including the blond - to turn around and put their attention to the two of us in the middle of the room.

"Huh?" I said, a little surprised at his sudden forceful nature.

"Go to the dance with me. I mean, if you'd like to." Tai then took my hand gently with his own, making sure the blond boy seated in the back could see. His voice changed again, back to that guy who had stood next to my desk, and it held a soft, gentle tone. "I'd be honored if you'd go to the dance with me, Sora," he said, smiling.

I was shocked, really. I knew Tai was going to ask me - well, that's not totally true. I knew he would ask me when he began to ask me, but I didn't know he would make such a spectacle of it. I was a little surprised...but pleasantly. It was the kind that made you blush happily around your friends, not the kind that gave you a heart attack or made you throw up or anything. I really didn't know what to say...

"I would _love_ to go with you, Tai," I said softly. Okay, so maybe I did know what to say...a little.

Tai leaned over to the side of my face, and I heard the entire class gasp as he kissed me lightly on the cheek, his lips lingering for the tiniest second longer than they should have. "Then it's a date. I'll pick you up on Wednesday at seven, okay?" he whispered into my ear, causing butterflies to rise in my stomach and a tingle run down my spine. Me and Tai...that didn't sound too bad...

I nodded my head, and, turning my head a little towards him, daringly brushed my lips against his own cheek, pleased to hear the slight gasp from Tai's parted lips. "Seven it is," I whispered back, and as Tai walked back to his seat, looking dazed. I could hear the whispers around me from gossiping girls about that little show.

"So," a girl with red spiky hair walked up to me and smiled. "You and Tai are going to the dance together, eh?"

"Looks like it, June," I replied with a chuckle.

June sighed, and twirled one of her locks around her finger. "I just wish I had a date for the Youth Day Dance," she said wistfully, looking out the window absently.

"Well," I piped up. "I know a lot of guys who don't have dates yet. Do you want me to hook you up with someone?"

"Could you?" June said eagerly, her attention fully back to me. I nodded cheerfully, even though I had no idea who I was going to set her up with. June's mischievous eye wandered over to the back of the room. "D'ya think you could hook me up with the Matt Ishida over there?" she said slyly, giving me a wink.

I laughed. "No, I don't think...hey, where did he go?" I turned my head to look over in his direction, but there was no one there. Sometime during Tai's and my little spectacle, he must have walked out of the room.

_Strange_, I thought. _ Why would Matt be upset about that?_

> **8:21 A.M.  
Monday 14 May  
Odaiba High  
**

Matt

I frowned as I watched the spectacle in the middle of the room, grimacing at the rise of gasps and whispers from the girls in the class as Tai and Sora had their little show before physics class.

Blecch. This was disgusting. I was getting out of there, and it couldn't be too soon.

Not caring if I made any noise, I stormed out of the room, using the back door of the classroom as my exit. I really didn't need to go to physics class today, anyway.

Why did she have to be with _him_? For as long as I could remember, Sora Takenouchi had been head-over-heels in love with Tai Kamiya, and it made absolutely no sense to me. What did Tai have that made him so special in her eyes? Sure, he was funny, and joking, and fun to be around...but what else was there to him? He was a complete jerk for as long as I knew him, in my opinion, and he hasn't changed since. Why would she want a jerk like him?

Why would she want a jerk like him instead of me?

I sighed and shoved my hands into my pockets. Why would I _want_ a tomboy like Sora? I didn't even get it. All the girls at Odaiba High idolized me...even senior girls visibly drooled when I walked through the halls. I could have any girl in this whole school...yet I wanted her.

And still l ask myself: _why_?

Maybe it was because I had known Sora for so long. I could talk to her about anything - she was the only one I ever really went to about my problems...besides Gabumon, that is. Sora was always there to listen and lend a helping hand, and she always thought of others before herself. Maybe I just stopped seeing her as a friend, and started seeing her as the possibility of being more than a friend to me.

Or maybe it was because, up until a month ago, I didn't think of Sora as a girl. I thought of her as one of the guys - it had always been just me, Sora, Tai, Izzy, and Joe, having fun together as friends and as nothing more. But then, I started to see Sora in a new light. She was beautiful - no, wait; _beautiful_ isn't even the word to describe her. I can't even think of a word to describe Sora; just that the word would be much stronger than simply _beautiful_.

It didn't matter, anyway. She was going to the dance with Tai. She liked Tai. She didn't like me. She would never think of me as more than a friend.

I shuffled away from the classroom and down the hall. Fine. She could go to the dance with Tai. She should have the time of her life with him. It's not like I'll ever care.


	3. Monday Morning (continued)

The Dance  
Monday Morning  
(continued)

Remember: I won't post the next part to this story until I get 10 reviews, so R&R, please!

> **11:55 A.M.  
Monday 14 May  
Odaiba High - Courtyard**

T.K.

I smiled as I entered the courtyard of the high school with my lunch in tow, seeing the light of my life - no pun intended - sitting down at our regular spot, merrily digging into her Caesar salad. She was totally unaware of my presence - she was intently studying notes in her binder, and I knew she was stressing over her biology test scheduled later in the afternoon. Seeing her there, shaded from the bright light of the sun by the large weeping willow she sat quietly under, I could swear, that my Kari looked like an angel.

I guess you could say Kari was my angel, so to speak; I had known her only for six years, but it's seemed like I've known her all my life, and perhaps even more, and we've been dating seriously since the last year, since we had both turned thirteen. Kari and I were best friends, and we were so much more than that as well. I felt as if I knew, sometimes, exactly what she was thinking, when she was thinking it, and she's told me that she's felt the same about me. We both knew, from all those prophecies that foretold about angels of hope and light and the saviors of two worlds, that we were not only destined to be DigiDestined, but destined to be DigiDestined...together. But neither of us knew that love could feel this good.

Feeling a little puckish right about then, I quietly snuck up behind her, and, when I could tell she had no clue I was behind her, I put my hands over her eyes playfully, hearing Kari's startled yet sweet gasp escape from her lips.

"Guess who!"

> **11:56 A.M.  
Monday 14 May  
Odaiba High - Courtyard**

Kari

I smiled, feeling the strong yet gentle hands fall upon my eyes, already knowing who was behind me. I could tell he was in the courtyard before he even approached me, even though my back was turned to the doors. I could smell my love's cologne from a mile away.

"Oh my God!" I said playfully, playing along with T.K.'s joke. "Matt, we can't go at it now! T.K. will be here any minute!"

As I felt his hands uncover my eyes, I grinned and turned my head to look up at T.K. and his mock-hurt expression. "That's not funny," he said, even though a smile was creeping upon his lips.

"No," I said, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "It's hilarious."

T.K. gave a mock laugh and sat down next to me, putting his arm lovingly around my shoulders. "So," he said. "how's your day been so far?"

"Oh, you know," I replied slyly. "A date here, a marriage proposal there..." I turned my head to look into his eyes, the deep pools of blue I found myself getting lost in daily. "...same old, same old. The boys just seem to love me," I said cheerfully, and T.K. smiled, knowing I was just joking around. Hey, if he could do it, so could I. "What about you?"

"About the same. Except, the boys seem to _really_ love me."

This sent me over the edge, and I threw my head back and laughed out loud, hearing T.K.'s low chuckle soon following mine. God...the sound of his voice sent tingles down my spine. I didn't know when I started feeling like this - maybe a year ago, when T.K. and I started going out exclusively, or maybe even before that - but I knew I was falling so hopelessly in love with T.K. Takaishi, I could barely stop myself.

"Hey Kari, about Wednesday..." T.K. began, I already knowing that he was talking about the Youth Day Dance, where it was almost a given that we would go together, "there's something I want to talk about with you..."

"I'm all ears," I said, returning my attention to my biology notes.

T.K. cleared his throat. "Well, we've been going out for a while now, and in my opinion, I think it's gotten pretty serious..."

I interrupted him then, looking up from my notes long enough to flash him a toothy grin. "T.K., if I knew you were going to ask me to the Youth Day Dance, I would have actually paid attention," I said, wrenching out a smirk from my boyfriend.

"That's not what I was going to say," he continued. Taking my hand in his, he raised his other hand to touch my cheek. I looked back at him, his deep blue eyes trapping my own. My breath hitched in my throat at his touch, just like it always did, and I knew, without even thinking about it, that you were really in love with a person when you just can't get enough of them. That was exactly how I felt about T.K., and I couldn't help myself from feeling like that. I didn't want to.

"Kari, you know I love you..." he began again.

"I love you, too," I said honestly.

T.K. cleared his throat again. Geez, whatever he had to tell me, it was sure taking a while for him to get to it. "And I don't want to push you into anything, but I think we might be ready for this. I mean, we've been going our for over a year now..."

"T.K., honey...would you get to the point?"

T.K. took a deep breath, and said it. "I think we're ready to go on to the next level of our relationship. You know...the ultimate level of our relationship."

My eyes widened in recognition. "T.K., are you saying...?" I trailed off as T.K. nodded his head, and I simply stared into his eyes of blue, my mouth hanging open in shock. He was talking about _sex_. T.K. wanted us to have _sex_?

"This was a bad idea, wasn't it," T.K. whispered sadly. "I didn't mean to rush us into anything..."

I interrupted him again, lightly brushing my fingers over his lips to silence him. I could feel his hot breath on my fingers as he let out a shaky breath, and I knew I was driving his hormones into a raging fit. "N-no, it's not a bad idea," I said honestly, and felt my cheeks deepen to a shade of pink. "I was thinking about..._that_ level, too. And I want us to...well..." I stumbled over my words, not quite knowing what I wanted to say. "We're gonna have to talk about this."

"Definitely." His hand moved from my cheek to my chin, pulling me closer to him and closing the small gap between us. "But I want you to know," he whispered, inaudible to anyone's ears but mine. "either way, Kari Kamiya, I love you."

I closed my eyes in anticipation, already feeling T.K.'s breath hot on my lips. "I love you, too," I whispered back, and I could almost feel his lips pressed sweetly against mine...

"God, you two are disgusting," a voice said above us. "Go get a room or something."

> **11:58 A.M.  
Monday 14 May  
Odaiba High - Courtyard**

Cody

I rolled my eyes at the happy couple before me, who, if I hadn't interrupted them, would have been on a constant make-out fest for the entire lunch period, which would have made me completely lose my appetite.

Kari and T.K. both audibly sighed - almost in sync with each other, which was pretty spooky - and broke away from each other, sitting next to each other instead of nearly in each other's laps. "Cody," T.K. said in a sarcastic voice. "How nice of you to grace us with your presence and so rudely interrupt what had the possibility of being a very nice lunch period."

Rolling my eyes once again, I sat down on the bench near the wispy tree and took no time with digging into my lasagna, which, for school food, wasn't that bad. "Well," I said, my mouth half filled with food, "I just wanted to remind you that you had a very impressionable twelve-year old mind in the vicinity, and I know you didn't want to be responsible for tainting my innocent mind."

Kari chuckled. "You? Innocent?" she asked skeptically. "That'll be the day. You just wanted to annoy us."

"That, too."

"And besides," T.K. added. "You won't be an impressionable twelve-year old mind forever, you know. Hey!" T.K. sat up straight and snapped his fingers. "I just remembered! Your birthday is Thursday, isn't it? You'll be thirteen." T.K. chuckled. "That means you really won't be twelve forever!"

"You were born the day after Youth Day, Cody?" Kari now sat up, her attention focused on me and my birthday. "How lucky is that?"

I turned away from the couple, and focused my energy on my lunch. "Not that lucky," I mumbled, even though I could bet neither Kari or T.K. heard me.

"Say, Cody, are you going to the Youth Day Dance?" T.K. asked, neither of the two noticing the change in my mood from happy and playful to solemn. "I know you're supposed to be thirteen to go, but if you tell them that your birthday is the day after, they might let you in!"

"And we could have a celebration at the dance!" Kari chimed in. "Wouldn't that be great?"

"I'm not going," I blurted out, my back still facing them. T.K. and Kari gasped, both startled by what I just said. "I'm not going to the Youth Day Dance. Not this year, not next, not ever."

"But Cody..." Kari began, but I cut her off.

"Don't try to talk me into it!" I barked back. I stood up from the bench and walked away, taking my tray of half-eaten lasagna and throwing it in the trash. Even though my father told me never to waste food unless it smelled bad, any food served from the cafeteria sure didn't smell like what it was supposed to. "I'm not going," I said, and headed for the doors to the cafeteria. I had enough fresh air for the day, and besides, I didn't want to get the third degree from those two lovebirds.


	4. Part Two: Monday Afternoon

The Dance  
Monday Afternoon

Remember: I won't post the next part to this story until I get 10 reviews, so R&R, please!

> **12:13 P.M.  
Monday 14 May  
Odaiba High - Cafeteria**

Joe

I scanned the room, holding my plate of vegetarian lasagna, searching for a seat in the crowded lunchroom. Well, that's not really accurate; I wasn't searching for a place to sit, for I already knew there'd be a place reserved for me over with Tai, Matt, Sora, and Izzy. I was really looking for someone in particular.

I caught a glimpse of pink hair in a green school uniform, and walked towards it, knowing only one person at Odaiba High would have the guts to go to school with that color hair.

"Mimi!" I yelled in the noisy cafeteria, and smiled when I saw her turn around to see who had called her name. I knew she wasn't going to be sitting near the others - she hadn't talked much to us at all since she and her family moved back to Japan a month ago - and there she was, cheerfully chatting with some junior girls at what was designated the "cool table" by the bulk of the student body. I ran up to the table, desperately trying not to drop my lasagna all over the floor - or my clothes.

By some miracle of faith, I reached the table without any accidents, and smiled even brighter as I saw Mimi's face up close. I hadn't seen her up close in such a long time; before she moved back to Japan, she didn't visit that often, and even when she did, I usually couldn't see her because of schoolwork. It was then that I noticed how beautiful she had grown to be. Her pink hair wasn't a harsh pink, or even a bright pink; it softened her looks, and outlined her face in a wonderful frame of silky hair. Even through the heavy cotton uniform, I could see Mimi had kept her slender figure her entire life, the belt of her kelly green skirt hugging tightly against her small waist, draping down to reveal a par of long, slender legs. Her delicate face stood out most of all: her beautiful almond-shaped eyes, a tiny, red bow-tie mouth, and her petite nose all made up what I always knew to be Mimi. But now, she was not the small girl I knew her to be: she was a beautiful - dare I say, sexy - young woman.

"H-hi, Mimi," I stuttered, grinning sheepishly and waving my hand, my other hand carefully balancing my lunch. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Mimi looked up at me nonchalantly. "Yeah, it has, Joe," she said. Behind her, I saw the girls she was talking to before giggle and whisper among themselves, no doubt about me. I blushed.

I cleared my throat. God, how many times had I practiced this in front of my mirror at home? And now, here I was, about to do it. How was I even going to do this? I mean, I didn't know what was going to happen, even. Mimi was Mimi, and she was always going to be Mimi...but was she the same Mimi that I knew all those years ago? And if she was, how was I to know that she would feel the same way about me?

"Um...well, I was wondering..." I began, as a wave of giggles erupted from the peanut gallery again. "The Youth Day Dance is coming up, and...well, I know you're new in town, and you probably don't have a date, so..."

"Joe Kido, are you asking me to the dance?" She blurted out, and the giggling girls behind her exploded into fits of laughter.

"Well...um...yes?" I said sheepishly.

I watched in horror as the girl of my dreams laughed in my face.

"I'm sorry, Joe," she said between giggles, "but I'm already going with someone else. His name's Roger Ohtori...and he's a senior."

And again, the giggling girls...giggled. I was beginning to think that was all they could do.

"B...but I'm a senior..." I said, a little spaced out. Was I just rejected...by Mimi???

"I know," she said, still chuckling. "But Roger's...Roger's on the rugby team. He's popular. He's an important senior." Mimi took this opportunity to laugh along with the others, of course, at my expense.

"Oh." That was all I could say. I was shocked...what had just happened? This Mimi...she was definitely not the girl I used to know. Talk about forgetting your past; if someone was to tell me that was the girl who once had the power of the Crest of Sincerity, I would have laughed in their face...just like she had just done to me.

I walked away slowly, hiding my disappointment and hurt deep inside of me. There was no need to dwell over this; if Mimi already had a date to the dance, then there was no way I could do anything about it. I just had to get over it. I needed to just forget about Mimi Tachikawa...perhaps forever.

I walked towards the others, and rolled my eyes as I saw Izzy's head melodramatically hit the tabletop. 

> **12:15 P.M.  
Monday 14 May  
Odaiba High - Cafeteria  
**

**__**Izzy

I dropped my head dramatically on the top of the lunchroom table as I sat down, hoping that my hair wouldn't fall into anyone's vegetarian lasagna.

And, as usual, no one seemed to pay much attention to my melodrama.

"Let me guess, Izzy," Matt said nonchalantly, chewing on a carrot stick. "Something's wrong?"

"My life is over," I mumbled through the table, not even bothering to look up. "That's it. There's no point in living anymore. My life is completely over."

"It can't be that bad," Sora said reassuringly as she sat down next to me, patting me on the back.

"What's wrong with him?" I heard a masculine voice ask, knowing already that it was Joe, who, even though he was a senior in high school, still decided to hang out with the rest of us at lunch. My mind instantly brought up a mental image of Mimi...who had decided otherwise.

"He says his life is over," Tai said sarcastically.

"What else is new?" Joe joked. Everyone at the table laughed. It seemed that, after I had hit puberty, it was common knowledge that nearly everything spelled social disaster, and thus, the end of by life. I didn't think I overreacted that much...sure, I did have my moods (Sora jokingly calls them my "PMS Days"), and I was a little sex-crazed, but I didn't think I was that bad. Obviously, however, my friends thought I overreacted a bit too much.

I brought my head up to face my accusers, who immediately stopped laughing when they saw my pained face. "Oh, come on, Izzy," Tai said. "It really can't be that bad that your life would be over because of it. It's not like you failed a math test or anything."

I gave him a death stare - for if I had failed a math test, I would have to come to the conclusion that my brain was slowly melting - and continued. "It's way worse than that." I took in a deep breath, and spread a frown across my face. "I don't have a date for the Youth Day Dance," I declared, dropping my head once again onto the table.

"Is that it?" Matt said. "That's nothing. I don't have a date, and you don't see me stressing over it."

I shot my head up in protest. "That's because your band is playing at the dance, _baka_!" I yelled, and Matt smiled.

"I know," he said with a wink. Everyone at the table groaned. We all knew how much Matt loved that his band, the Teenage Wolves, was playing at the Odaiba Youth Day Dance at the high school, and how much more he loved to hear anyone else say it. I had to admit, it was a big accomplishment for him and his band...but what's a Youth Day Dance if you can't enjoy it?

"Besides," I continued, "you had a date last year. I didn't. In fact, I haven't had a date for the past three years." I rested my head on my arm, thinking about the consequences this dance could bring about...if I wasn't careful. "If I don't bring a girl to this year's dance...people might start wondering about me," I said dramatically, and everyone looked back at me, knowing that I meant something that was far from heterosexual, and in the minds of the student body of Odaiba High, far from normal.

"Well," Sora spoke up quietly, "do they have anything to...well...wonder about?"

I looked at her with a disgusted glare. "No!" I protested. "I'm not...well, I'm _not_." I sighed, as the rest of the gang listened intently, my regular "temper-tantrum" (as Tai calls them - behind my back, too) becoming strangely interesting. "I need a date - a _girl_ - for the dance. However, I don't know anyone who isn't already going with someone...besides Yolei Inoue." I made a face at this thought. That was never going to happen. I would rather have everyone in school think I had the hots for Joe Kido, rather than go to the dance with _her_.

I turned to Sora, who was in the middle of stuffing a gigantic piece of lasagna in her mouth. That was always the thing with Sora - she wasn't afraid of being herself around us. She never let her self-conscious get in the way of her friendship with us, be it appearance, mannerisms, or even, especially after tennis practice, hygiene. "I need help, Sora," I said as she chewed, "A friend, an acquaintance, anyone - do you know anyone who doesn't have a date for the dance yet?" I pouted melodramatically. "Please...I'm begging you for this, Sora. I need a girl!"

Sora swallowed the lasagna and replied. "Well, I know one girl, but..."

"Please!" I pleaded. "Hook me up, Sora...you have to!"

"Oh, come on, Sora," Tai interjected sarcastically. "I hate hearing the poor guy beg."

"Okay," she said. "There's this girl on the tennis team who doesn't have a date for the dance, and she's been freaking out about it, too. I'll see what I can do."

My mood changed then, and I looked at Sora askance, my brows furrowed. If this girl didn't have a date, then... "She isn't a dog, is she?" I asked impolitely. I didn't care if I was impolite; it was only four days until the dance, and I needed a date desperately, but if she looked like, sounded like, or smelled anything close to a Numemon, then there'd be no point in the hook-up at all.

Sora shook her head. "She's nice, and sweet, and cheerful. I'm not much of a gauge for female attractiveness, but she's pretty athletic, and has a nice body. She's not a catch, Izzy, but -"

"- face it, dude; neither are you." Matt smirked at his bad joke, which, once again, made everyone at the table groan.

I turned my attention back to Sora. "Are you sure she'll be available?"

"Positive."

"Good." I stood up to get my own lunch from the cafeteria, feeling quite hungry after watching the four of them eat like pigs in the middle of my terrible dilemma. "I'll talk to you tonight about setting this up, Sora, okay?"

Sora nodded. "How about after school?" she suggested. "You can come to tennis practice and meet her."

I shook my head no. There was already something else on my mind that I had to do. I needed to find a diversion...to get me out of even remotely running into Yolei Inoue - the human barnacle - at the dance. And I believed I knew the right person to ask. "Can't," I replied. "I've got something else to do."

> **3:47 P.M.  
Monday 14 May  
Odaiba High**

__Davis

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Izzy looked at me with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Come on, Davis," he said as I rolled my eyes at him. "Don't be like this. I need you to help me out."

I plopped down in front of one of the computers in the high school's computer room. "Tell me again why I should help you."

Izzy sighed as I loaded Minesweeper on the screen. "Sora's hooking me up with one of her inconceivably arousing friends on the tennis team..."

"'_Hot_', Izzy," I said. "All you have to say is she's _hot_."

Izzy gave me a "look" and continued. "Well, I'm planning to take her to the Odaiba Youth Day dance on Wednesday, and I want it to transpire flawlessly." I already knew what he was getting to. I could feel it in my bones. "That means that I don't want someone to mess this up by incessantly bothering me at the dance...someone, like...Yolei."

I rolled my eyes again. I knew that Yolei was far gone over Izzy - hell, she had the hots for anyone with a penis...except for me, of course, as far as I knew. And for that, I'm very thankful. Thank God; just even thinking about nerdy Yolei and her nerdy glasses and nerdy clothes...well, face it. She's just a nerd.

"I need you," Izzy pointed an index finger at me, "to keep her busy. Take her to the movies, or the mall, or somewhere. You can take her to the dance for all I care, but keep her away from me. Can you do that?"

I gave him a look like he just explained quantum physics to me. "You think I'm going to voluntarily go to the dance with Yolei, just so that you can get some from a tennis floozy?"

"I like to think of it as an act of courtship with a respectable young woman...but yes, basically."

I laughed in his face, smiling at his smug expression. This was hilarious. If he thought he was ever going to put Yolei on me for the night, he had another thing coming. I would never -

"I'll pay you!"

I stopped laughing. If Izzy was talking about a payment for this most heinous job, then we were in a whole new ball game. "How much?" I asked, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

Izzy smiled devilishly, and I knew he was going to give me an offer I couldn't refuse. "I'll do all your homework for a week, plus I'll tutor you in whatever you need help. And I know how much you need help in trigonometry."

I frowned and shook my head. Just one week of homework? He had to be kidding me. Maybe if he asked me to take Mimi to the dance. But this was Yolei Inoue we were talking about, not Mimi. He'd have to do a lot more to get this from me. "Make it two, and we've got a deal." I held out me hand to seal the deal.

Izzy took my hand in his and shook it. "So we do, Davis," he said. "so we do."

It was just one night with Yolei. I thought that I could handle it.

Little did I knew just how serious this one little date was going to be.


	5. Monday Afternoon (continued)

The Dance  
Monday Afternoon  
(continued)

Remember: I won't post the next part to this story until I get 10 reviews, so R&R, please!

> **4:23 P.M.  
Monday 14 May  
245 Cherry Blossom Way Apartment 8-H**

T.K.

"I totally failed that biology test today," Kari sighed as she flung herself dramatically onto her bed, burying her head in the pillow. "And I studied so much for that test, too."

"You didn't fail, Kari," I said reassuringly, stepping into the familiar bedroom in the Kamiya's apartment. I didn't know when I stopped feeling awkward whenever I was in Kari's bedroom, but it felt like ages ago. I didn't know when, or even if, I ever felt awkward anywhere around Kari. I always felt so comfortable around Kari...I had known her since forever, and she never made me feel uneasy when I was around her. Her cheer and openness just bounced right off her and onto anyone who was around her, I guess.

"Yes, I did," Kari said into her pillow, making it sound more like "Yhmmph eh dud," even though I knew what she had said. I sighed and rolled my eyes, dropping our books onto the desk inside the room. It never failed; every time Kari had a test in school, she said she had failed it, and goes ballistic over it, even though she finds out the next day that she was far from failure. I never knew why Kari spent so much time worrying about getting perfect test scores and stuff; she had always done excellent in the past, and she was still clobbering my test scores in history.

Sitting down next to her on the bed, I stroked her hair with my hand, coaxing her to raise her head from the pillow and look at me. "Kari," I said in a firm yet gentle tone, "You know you didn't fail. You did just fine. Don't stress out over it, okay?"

Kari pouted, and lifted herself up to a sitting position beside me on the bed. "Okay..." she said, a bit warily. "But I -"

I placed my finger over her mouth lightly, stopping her from arguing any further. "Don't stress, babe," I said. "Didn't I tell you how not cute you look when you're stressing?"

Kari smiled, and kissed the tip of my finger. "Didn't I tell you how I hate it when you call me 'babe'?" she replied, grabbing my wrists with her hands and bringing them behind her neck, wrapping herself up in my arms. I smirked, and leaned in to kiss her lips lightly, only brushing my lips against her own teasingly. "T.K...." Kari sighed almost inaudibly, her eyes already partly closed, her lips slightly parted in anticipation. I closed my own eyes, the small distance between us agonizing, as I went in for the kill.

My lips met hers in a trance of pure magic, just as it always was. _God, this must be how it feels_, I thought, as our kiss deepened, and my tongue slid expertly out of my mouth and into hers. _ This must be how it feels to be in love._

I heard Kari's breath hitch in her throat as I slowly leaned up against her, closing the ever-so-tiny gap between us that nonetheless felt like miles, and gently pressed her down on the mattress. My eyes flew open at the realization of what I was doing, where I was, and the fact that I was lying on top of Kari, kissing her like there was no tomorrow, with a sizable development forming in my pants that I would have rather kept to myself.

I broke our kiss, and Kari's eyes fluttered open, a look of confusion spread across her face. "I-I'm sorry," I whispered, looking away from the soft amber eyes I had loved. I couldn't do this to her. I wasn't going to let my hormones get in the way of my emotions, and I was going to make sure nothing happened between us before we were ready...or before the dance. Whichever came first.

I felt a warm hand against my cheek, and I turned to look Kari in the eyes again. "You don't have to be," Kari said with a smirk. "I'm sure not." With that, Kari pulled me in again, and our lips were soon entwined again, in a fit of childish passion, but quite mature love.

"Wait," Kari was the one to break our kiss this time. "This is exactly what we have to talk about...you know, the..._dance_, and everything." I knew what she was talking about; it wasn't so much about the dance, but what we planned to do after the dance. Knowing that we had to face this discussion now or never, I got up off of Kari and rolled over to the side of the bed, composing myself and allowing my heart rate - as well as other parts of me - to return to normal.

I cleared my throat. "Well," I began, propping myself up on my elbow. "We're going to have to be sure we're ready for this. I mean, I don't want to rush you into anything -"

"And I said before," Kari interrupted. "You're not rushing me into anything I don't want to do." Reaching over to touch my cheek again, she smiled. "And, I mean, it's not like this is...wrong, or anything. I mean, this is normal. _Sex_," she took a deep breath when she said that word, "is completely natural. It's a normal stage of life, right?"

"It's kinda the first stage of life, ya know?" I chuckled nervously, then immediately explained myself. "N-not like it's going to be the first stage of life for us or anything! I mean, it was the first stage of life, but then again, we're not going to...uh...have a stage of life...or...something like that..."

I stumbled over my words, not quite sure how to say what I wanted to say. Kari laughed quietly - that wonderful, light sounding laugh that made my heart jump in my throat - and stopped me from my rambling. "I know what you're talking about," she said. "And we'll definitely use...protection."

"I'll get what we need for that," I said. "I mean...I should be the one to get those, right? Since I'll be the one that will be kinda...wearing them, you know..."

Kari chuckled again. "You know," she began, "you are so cute when you're embarrassed." I couldn't help but smile - and blush. Kari moved closer towards me on the bed, until her body was pressed against mine, her head resting comfortably on my chest. "I love you, you know," she whispered.

I kissed the top of her head, nearly dying as I inhaled the sweet scent of her shampoo. "I love you, too," I said back. It was funny, really; no matter how much I said those words to Kari, I never got tired of saying them. Their meaning never really diminished, or got watered down; if anything, I felt more love for her today than I had yesterday, and will probably love her more tomorrow, no matter how corny that sounds. I didn't think I would ever get tired of saying those three little words to Kari. I really loved her, and, come the night of the Youth Day Dance, I wanted to show her how much I loved her.

> **4:27 P.M.  
Monday 14 May  
245 Cherry Blossom Way Apartment 8-H**

****Tai

"Hey, is anyone home?" I called out as I opened the door to the bedroom. "I..." I stopped short in the doorway with my mouth hanging open. There, lying on the bed, was my baby sister and her boyfriend...in a not so innocent position.

"What the FUCK do you two think you're doing???" My eyes bugged out of my head as I watched the two fourteen year olds - and I do stress the _fourteen_ aspect - frantically get up from the bed to cover up whatever I might have seen, even though I had seen enough to make me sick for a year. And God, I hoped that nothing more than just that happened before I walked in...

"Tai!" Kari cried out, popping her head up and rising nervously to a sitting position. "What are you doing here? Um, I mean..."

"Tai!?!" I heard T.K.'s voice say frantically, his back facing me. He jerked around from his position on the bed to see me standing here with a not so pleased expression on my face. Being shocked and startled so see me there, he lost his balance and ungracefully tumbled to the floor with a _thud_.

I rolled my eyes, still angered and nauseated at the thought of my sister having a boy with her in her room, on her bed, even if it was T.K., someone I had known for nearly half his life and had trusted with Kari, up until today. "You're lucky it was me, you know," I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest. "If it was Mom or Dad that came in instead of me, you would be so dead." Kari nodded her head solemnly, knowing she would never have heard the end of it if that happened. "They probably wouldn't even let you go to the Youth Day Dance, either."

"Well," she said, getting off the bed and helping T.K. to his feet. "Then I'm glad that it wasn't them."

I shrugged, and decided that, although I wasn't too comfortable with the idea of my baby sister growing up, I wasn't going to tell our parents. Kari isn't a vengeful girl, but if I mess with her relationship with T.K., I know one day I'll find a little "present" from Gatomon in my bed that should have been in the litter box. "Well, either way, squirt," I said, dropping my bookbag onto the floor. "I need you to get out. I gotta make a phone call."

"Why can't you use the one in the livingroom?" she challenged.

"Or you could use your cell phone," T.K. added.

"You," I pointed to T.K., who was still red in the cheeks from being caught, "don't help." Both of these suggestions could have worked, too; I could've used either phone, but I chose to use the private line in the bedroom so that I could have an excuse to get T.K. and Kari out of that room and into the livingroom. Sure, they could as easily leave off where they started in that room, but hopefully, with the added fear that my parents might catch them, they would think otherwise. I only hope this whole relationship between them is on the verge of innocent; I don't want to think that any fourteen year old is thinking of having a serious sexual relationship, and that goes double for my little sister.

I pointed towards the door. "Out," I ordered. "I have to make a phone call to Sora."

"Oh! Speaking of Sora," Kari said, being a girl that could never get enough gossip, "I remember you telling me that you wanted to ask her to the Youth Day Dance. Is that why you're calling her?"

I shook my head. "I already asked her this morning," I said. Kari nodded and smiled, already knowing that she had said yes. there was never a doubt in Kari's mind that Sora wouldn't turn me down this year...yet there was a tinge of doubt in mine. "I just have to go over some details with her."

"Wait," T.K. said, his brow creased in confusion. "You're going to the dance with Sora?" He gave a small chuckle at this. "Well, what does Matt have to say about this?"

"Huh?" Matt? What did Matt Ishida have to do with this? Well...actually, I _did_ know what he had to do with this. I wasn't stupid; sure, I could be a little dense at times, which everybody seems to love to point out, but I'm not stupid. I could see how Sora looked at him when he walked into a room or when all the girls were fawning over him. I could see how much Matt envied me for having such a close friendship with her...and how he might want his friendship with her to be more. But I refused to let that all get to me. I know that their feelings matter, but my feelings matter, too, and I'm not about to just forget about Sora and the Youth Day Dance just because of Matt Ishida.

"Didn't he say anything about you two?" T.K. continued. "He's got it bad for Sora, even though he won't really admit it to me. I would think that he would have something to say about this."

I turned away from Kari and T.K., and grabbed the phone on the desk. "Well, he didn't," I said coldly. "Now if you'll excuse me..."

I heard the door close, and dialed Sora's number. The familiar cheerful voice I knew so well picked up on the other end. "Hello?"

"Hey, darlin'," I said in my sexiest American accent. I heard Sora giggle, and she responded with slight sarcasm.

"You call that an American accent, Tai?" she asked, and I smiled. I didn't even care what sarcastic comment she was going to make about my impression; she had known right from the start that it was me. The thought that Sora could know me so well sent butterflies loose in my stomach. "You sound like a strangled goat."

"Well, thanks for the compliment." I could swear, I almost feel her smile over the telephone lines. "So, are we still on for Wednesday night?" I settled myself down into the desk chair, twirling the telephone cord around my fingers absently.

"Of course we are, Tai," she replied. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"Well...I, um..." I stuttered my response. I wasn't ready for that question. I cleared my throat and answered nervously. "Nevermind," I said quickly. "I just wanted to ask you what kind of corsage I should get you for the dance."

"You don't have to do that," she said. "You don't have to get me a corsage, you know."

"Of course I do!" I protested. Wait, why was I insisting on spending more money? My precious money, that could be better spent on hair gel... "It's the gentlemanly thing to do. I'd feel like such a jerk if I didn't get you one."

"Oh, Tai," Sora said softly into the receiver. "You could never be a jerk." I smiled at Sora's comment. Even from across town, she could make me blush with sweet embarrassment. "I'll be wearing a purple dress, so...I guess you can get me a lilac?" I jotted the flower down on a piece of paper so I wouldn't forget. "You don't really have to do this, Tai," she said again, though I could tell in her voice that she really did want me to.

"No, I don't _have_ to do it," I replied softly. "I _want_ to do it."

"You are too sweet." A silence passed between us: an awkward silence, one that never really happened between us in all the years that we've been friends. As friends, we were always so comfortable with each other that we didn't have to think about what we were going to say...but as more...

I cleared my throat to break the silence. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow in physics?"

I smiled warmly as Sora replied. "I'll see you tomorrow, Tai." And then she hung up.


	6. Part Three: Tuesday Morning

The Dance  
Tuesday Morning

Remember: I won't post the next part to this story until I get 10 reviews, so R&R, please!

**

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
FANFICTION.NET SUCKS!!!

**

I tried to make this fic my prettiest. I put in all different fonts for the POVs of my characters to make it look like handwriting. I made different color schemes. I even made the introductions look like LED displays.

And what does ff.n do?

It erases EVERYTHING that makes my fic look the way I want it to.

I am so pissed now that I don't even want to finish this fic on ff.n, but I promised everyone that if they kept reviewing, I'd keep posting.

So, you guys are stuck with a crappy version of The Dance.

If you want the original version (complete with MY HTML), please [e-mail me at darkrosewakaba@aol.com][1] and I'll be happy to send you the fic.

_ - wakaba-chan_

> **8:15 A.M.  
Tuesday 15 May  
Odaiba High**

Mimi

"Oh, Mimi," my friend Michelle tapped me on the shoulder as she and a group of my other new friends walked with me through the halls of Odaiba High before first period. "Take a look. Your _boyfriend_ is walking by again."

I didn't need to turn around, really; by Michelle's tone of voice, I could tell who she was talking about, and it wasn't Roger Ohtori, the hot and popular senior who I was going to the dance with on Wednesday. No, Michelle was referring to another senior from Odaiba High that had eyes for yours truly, and I wasn't too happy about it.

I heard a wave of giggles rise from the rest of the group - mostly senior and junior girls, who let me hang out with them because I used to live in New York, even though I'm only a sophomore - and I rolled my eyes. Sure, I knew we were supposed to be the "popular" crowd of Odaiba High; everyone was afraid to mess with us, or we could trash their reputations so badly they'd have to transfer into another school. (I like that part of the power the popular group holds.) But I thought these girls ruled the student body with authority, or at least a fashionable iron hand. It seemed all these girls did was giggle.

Sighing, I turned around, my pink curls spraying in my face as I watched him walk sadly to his locker, not even looking up to meet my eye.

Why did he have to ask me? Why did he have to make this all so complicated?

"You know, Mimi," Michelle said, as I heard various jokes from the other girls about the senior in question, most of them not pleasant and all of them directed towards me, "I am so proud of you. When you left Japan, you were hanging out with the totally wrong crowd. Those guys were such dweebs; except for Matt Ishida, of course." I rolled my eyes again. Michelle had the biggest crush on Matt, and, before my little encounter in the cafeteria yesterday, she was the butt of everyone's jokes for being a senior liking a junior guy. "But now, you're hanging with us. You're one of us, Mimi, and that makes you powerful in this school."

"I'm glad you decided to ditch those geeks and hang with us," she continued, as my gaze never left the senior across the hall, whose books had now all fallen out of the compact locker. "If you stayed with that crowd, you would just be a geek. But now you're cool," she placed a hand on my shoulder, "because you're with us."

I didn't answer her. I didn't want to talk to Michelle right now, or I was afraid something would slip - mainly my fist - and we would no longer be getting along like sisters. It wasn't that I didn't like hanging out with the popular girls; it was fun sometimes, but for the most part, all they did was make fun of other people and...well, giggle a lot. And I am not a giggling person.

I was stupid; I know. I was a horrible friend, and a disgrace to the Crest of Sincerity. When I had moved back to Japan, I didn't even say a word to my old friends, or the new DigiDestined, even Yolei. I knew I was being a bad friend, but I also wanted to hang with the cool crowd, and that included not hanging out with my old friends. I know it was a bad choice, and now, I'd love to take it back, but...

"Hey, sweetlips," a strong, muscular arm draped itself across my shoulders, and I could recognize the voice of one of my many perks to being in the cool group.

I looked up - way up; this boy was a freakin' giant compared to me - and saw the piercing blue eyes of Roger Ohtori looking back at me. "Hey yourself," I said in a sexy voice, one that I knew drove all the guys on the East Coast wild.

And, sure enough, it worked for the native boys, too. "God," Roger whispered into my ear, sending shivers of lust down my spine. "you make me so goddamn hot, Tachikawa."

I smiled on the outside, but inside, I was dying. Yeah, Roger was quite a catch, and he sure did something for me physically, but while there was a nice coat of paint on the outside of the house - a gorgeous coat of paint on the outside of the house - the furniture inside looked like it came from a thrift store...or even worse, Ikea. Roger was gorgeous, and I was lucky to bag him for the Youth Day Dance, but he really wasn't what I wanted in a guy. He wasn't smart, he didn't care about my feelings, and plus, I've heard from his ex-girlfriends that he was a little pushy when it came to the bedroom. I was going to make sure it didn't come to that on Wednesday, but even still, I didn't want to send my time with a guy like that. I'd rather spend more time with...

...and again, my gaze falls upon him.

I've known him for what seems like forever. Six years, to be exact; much longer than I've known Michelle or Roger or any of these stupid giggling girls. I've known so much about him as well, and he knows more about me than anyone else does, or probably ever will. He's told me things that he never told a soul, not his best friends, or even his brother. He was the one that helped me truly earn the Crest of Sincerity.

And now, just because of his dopey glasses and his chronic clumsiness, I've made a fool of him to the cool crowd, and, no doubt, to the entire school. I felt remorse for what I'd done to him...I was truly being selfish and inconsiderate. I was being such a bitch to all my old friends, especially him, and I wanted to change.

But then I look at what I've gotten from the crowd I've been with for the short time I've been in Japan. I hang out with upperclassmen all day, I've got loads of lowerclassmen that envy me and my life, nearly everyone in school knows me as "Mimi: That Popular Girl," and I've got this amazing hunk of beef named Roger Ohtori on my arm. Sure, it was lonely at the top without my friends...but I was still at the top.

I tugged slightly on Roger's arm. "Come on," I urged. "Walk me to chemistry." Roger smiled and obliged, and so we walked down the middle of the hall, Michelle and the others in tow, and I smiled as I watched the sea of students part to let us through. This was the kind of power I was looking for.

_Oh, shit..._ My eyes met with his for one split second, and my mood immediately changed, and I was humbled by his sad dark eyes, scolding me from behind his glasses. He knew I was no longer worthy of the Crest of Sincerity, and so did I. I was ashamed of that fact, sure, but there was nothing I could do about it now...

"I'm sorry," I whispered to Joe as I passed him. He said nothing in reply. 

> **8:18 A.M.  
Tuesday 15 May  
Odaiba High**

**__**Izzy

"Ouch...that musta hurt," I said to myself as I walked down the halls of Odaiba High that Tuesday morning, watching the scene unfold before me. A pink-haired Mimi Tachikawa - once one of my closest friends but now only a memory to me - had just breezed by Joe Kido, who had a major crush on her and has had it since he was twelve, on the arm of Roger Ohtori, the most popular and most pompous guy in the school. It must have really hurt Joe to watch Mimi just walk by him like that; I know how excited he was when we all heard Mimi was back in Japan, and he really wanted to go to the dance with her. Mimi, on the other hand, hasn't spoken a word to any of the former DigiDestined since she got here, and she's been acting like the spoiled brat princess I remembered her to be before we went to the Digiworld six years ago. And now she was going with Roger Ohtori to the Youth Day Dance, and there was nothing Joe could do to stop it.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for gossip.

I walked over to Joe as the rest of Mimi's motley crew taunted him and giggled at him mockingly. Joe merely stood there and took it, his eyes transfixed on Mimi as she disappeared up the stairwell.

"That's real harsh, man," I said, patting him on the back reassuringly. Joe sighed.

"She's different," he said simply, still looking in the direction of the stairwell. "She's changed..."

I felt genuinely bad for Joe. He had really fallen bad for Mimi, and he always wanted her to feel the same way for him, but she didn't, as far as I knew. Sure, Mimi was always a talker, but when it came to talking about her and her feelings, she was so tight-lipped you wouldn't be able to get anything out of her. Maybe she did have some feelings for Joe; maybe she didn't. And maybe she really did feel bad about ditching us in high school. I don't think I'll ever know.

"Well, look on the bright side, Joe," I said, trying to raise his spirits a little. "Now that you're not dating Mimi...you're not dating Mimi!"

Joe looked at me and gave me a weak smile, but I knew his heart wasn't into it. What I thought was repugnant was all he ever wanted, and I wasn't sensitive to that. I quickly apologized. "Ooh. Bad joke. Sorry," I said sincerely, as Joe shrugged and closed his locker without saying a word. Maybe he was taking this Mimi thing a little more seriously than I thought...

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a tall girl with auburn hair shuffle down the hallway, and my attention was diverted elsewhere. With a quick goodbye to Joe, I crossed the sea of students to get to the leggy brunette.

"Sora! Hey!" I yelled, trying to get her attention. Sora turned around, acknowledging that she heard her name called, but she didn't seem to be looking for who called it. It looked like she had her mind on other things...

I finally caught up to her, and it was only then that she noticed me. "Oh, hey, Izzy," she said, a little spacey. "What's up? You didn't call yesterday about the blind date. Having second thoughts?"

I shook my head no enthusiastically. I was looking forward to this; it wasn't every day I had a date, and especially not with a girl on the tennis team. "I just didn't have any time yesterday," I replied. "But I want to smooth over the details with you right now, if it's okay."

Sora nodded. "Well, I haven't really gone over the details with her yet, either, so I guess you'll have to meet her at the dance. Hmmm..." Sora thought about it for a second, and then continued. "She'll meet you at seven o'clock at the refreshments table. Does that sound okay?"

"Yeah," I began, "but how will I know who she is? I'm not psychic, you know."

"Oh, that'll be easy!" Sora said, and smiled, the first time I saw her have an actual emotion that morning. Something was definitely up with her today... "She's going to wear a red rose corsage, with baby's breath sprigs and a blue ribbon. I made it myself, so you'll definitely be able to pick it out!"

I nodded, and checked my Digivice for the time, which blinked **8:20** menacingly, declaring in its bright LED display that I was late for Literature class. My eyes widened, and I quickened my pace. "Sounds great, Sora," I said as I walked, nearly running, through the corridor. "So...I guess I'll see you at the dance!"

"See you there, Izzy!" I heard her yell back as I rushed into the classroom, only to see the stern face of my Literature teacher.

> **8:20 A.M.  
Tuesday 15 May  
Odaiba High**

June

My eyes squinted as I rushed into the high school, my eyes not adjusting at all to the darkness of the corridors in contrast to the bright morning sun. I looked around as I walked quickly through the halls, trying to find the stairwell and not to bump into anyone along the way. I was already late for Physics, and being rather blind wasn't helping any.

Stumbling around the hallway, I did what I was trying to avoid - I ran right into someone, nearly knocking her down as she had her back to me, waving to someone else in the crowd. "Oh...oh, geez, I'm sorry, I couldn't really see..." I began apologizing, but the person stopped me right in the middle of it.

"It's okay, June," the figure said, still a little dark and fuzzy in my line of vision but getting clearer by the minute. So, she obviously knew my name; this was great, if she decided to sue me for her mental anguish of me nearly tackling her in the hallway. "But shouldn't you be in Physics class right now?"

I rubbed my eyes furiously to get them to focus quicker, knowing that it wouldn't help but only bring spots to my eyes. Miraculously, though, my vision began to clear with a few more blinks (although now I had the spots problem), and I could see who I was talking to. "Sora?" I said, recognizing the cheerful face and the auburn hair. Sora nodded, and I smiled. "I...kinda got in late," I said sheepishly, not wanting to admit that I had slept right through my Sailor Moon alarm clock - _again_ - and then had to fight Davis (almost literally) for the bathroom, making both of us late in the process.

"That's okay," Sora said. "I wanted to talk to you anyway. Are you still looking for a date for the Youth Day Dance?" I nodded my head, a little too energetically. To say I was desperate was an understatement; just because you're on the tennis team doesn't guarantee you a cute jock boyfriend from the baseball team, or even from the lacrosse team. "Well, I've got a guy that's just dying to go with you. His name is..."

"Whoah, hold it right there," I held my hands up as we began leisurely walking towards class. Now that I had someone to be late with, being late didn't really seem to matter anymore. "Stats first, name later. Give me the dish, girl! Is he hot? Is he a jock? Just who is this guy?"

"Well," Sora began, "he's not that big on sports...he's more of a..._cerebral_ type." I gave a fake smile, hoping to any God that would hear me that this dude wasn't on the chess team. "He's a sophomore in this school, with red hair and dark eyes...do you know him?" I shook my head no. Oh, God; she was hooking me up with a sophomore? What ever happened to that brainy senior kid she used to know? "He's real smart, and he's funny. I think you'll really like him, June," she said, and grinned.

"Oh, I probably will," I lied, and sighed inwardly. Well, beggars can't be choosers, I guess. I only hoped that this Youth Day wouldn't be too much of a bore with a nerdy lowerclassmen hanging on my arm all night.

"Now, I've just set this up with him, and I won't be able to change it, so here goes." I listened intently at what Sora had to say. "You'll be meeting him at the dance at the refreshment tables, at...seven, was it? Or was it seven thirty? I forget." Sora thought for a second. It seemed like she wasn't getting the hang of this "setting other people up" job. "Anyway, I also told him he'd be able to recognize you because you'd be wearing a red rose corsage."

At this, my jaw dropped open in shock. "A red rose corsage?" I asked Sora. "You've got to be joking! I won't be able to find a red rose now! The Youth Day Dance is tomorrow, and red happens to be the 'in' color this year," I said, knowing what would be the "in" color from reading all those beauty magazines, which I knew would come in handy one day. "Nearly every flower shop in town is out of red roses!"

Sora simply shook her head and smiled. "Don't worry about it, June," she said. "My mother owns a flower shop downtown, and she's been keeping some red roses for the house. I'm just going to take one and make you a corsage myself. I've been doing it for the flower shop for about a week now, and I can do it pretty well."

"But Sora," I objected. This wasn't going to change anything. "I don't know if I'll even see you the night of the dance. How are you going to get the corsage to me in time?"

Sora thought about it for a second. "I can give it to you this afternoon..."

I shook my head, cutting her off. "I've got a meeting with the Youth Day committee this afternoon," I said. "And I'll be out all day tomorrow." I sighed, thinking that this was hopeless. Was I doomed to never have a guy? Even a geeky lowerclassmen who might be on the chess team was preferential to nothing. Was I just cursed, or something?

"Don't worry!" Sora whispered, as we walked into class, ignoring the teacher's dirty looks and lectures on the youth of Japan these days. "I'll get it to you; you just get to the dance on time!"

   [1]: mailto:darkrosewakaba@aol.com



	7. Tuesday Morning (continued)

The Dance  
Tuesday Morning  
(continued)

Remember: I won't post the next part to this story until I get 10 reviews, so R&R, please!

**Okay, so I'm not above any shameless self-promotion.**

I just want you guys to know about my new clique, [Candlelight][1].

If you have a website and are interested, please sign up and join!

Thanks! And now, back to The Dance!

> **11:49 A.M.  
Tuesday 15 May  
Odaiba High**

**Yolei**

"Izzy!" I yelled shrilly as I ran through the crowded halls of Odaiba High, trying desperately to get to the red-haired computer whiz before I was trampled by scores of hungry teenagers trying to get to lunch.

After a few seconds of pushing through bodies and calling Izzy's name, I finally reached him, a look of shock mixed with annoyance on his face...not that I cared about being annoying or anything. "Hi, Izzy!" I said cheerfully, as I saw Izzy roll his eyes and smile faintly.

"Hi, Yolei," he replied, not too enthusiastically. I pretended I didn't notice, even though his coldness towards me was eating me up inside, and merely smiled even brighter.

"Well, Izzy, I just wanted to ask you right now...if you had a date for the Youth Day Dance on Wednesday," I said, crossing my fingers behind my back, hoping against hope that he'd say no, but yes, he'd love to take me.

"Um, actually, Yolei..." Izzy began, reaching behind his neck to scratch the back of his head, "I'm kinda not going to the Youth Day Dance this year. I...well...have to format my hard drive that night, and you know how long that can take..."

"Well, can't you do it some other time?" I said, a bit of sadness and disappointment creeping into my voice.

Izzy shook his head. "I don't have any other time to do it," he said as he hurried off to the cafeteria. "But tell me how it was afterwards!"

And just like that, he was gone.

Sighing, defeated, I began my trek to the school's courtyards, where T.K., Kari, Davis and I usually spent our lunch period, my head down the whole way. I wasn't even looking up when I bumped into a mass of gray cotton and jet black hair, sending both his and my books flying across the floor.

> **11:52 A.M.  
Tuesday 15 May  
Odaiba High**

Ken

"Oh, I'm sorry," the teenage girl before me mumbled, her wire-rimmed glasses falling to the floor with a clatter. She immediately bent down to pick them up and pick up the books that fell between us. "I wasn't looking where I was walking. I am so sorry -"

"Yolei?" I didn't catch a good look at her face, but from the long purple hair pinned beneath a maroon beret, I could tell it was her. I bent down myself to pick up my notebook, bending down to meet Yolei's eye.

"Oh!...Ken," Yolei said, startled. "I didn't even see it was you...are you okay?"

I smiled faintly, seeing the slightest tinge of fear and disgust in Yolei's eyes that she was trying to keep hidden, even though she wasn't doing it too well. I knew that, even after I had given up on being the Digimon Kaiser and took my place as a DigiDestined, some of my new teammates wouldn't trust me, and Yolei was one of them. She had tried to assure me - many times - that she welcomed me with open arms into the group, but I could see through her cheerful exterior to the pain and distrust in her eyes. I had done a lot to get rid of most of that hatred of me and what I had done, but I knew that it would always be there in her eyes. Cody's, too; but Cody was a special case. With Yolei, I was able to break through to her, and she trusts me a little more now than before. I haven't been able to get through to Cody, and something inside me says I never will.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied. "But Yolei, your glasses..."

Yolei picked up the broken pair of glasses, scrutinized them, and shrugged. "They're only broken by the frame," she said, and placed them carefully in her backpack. "I guess I'll just be wearing contacts for the dance..."

Then, a sudden thought dawned on her, and it was clearly evident by the expression on her face. Her mood brightened, and she looked up at me with eager eyes. "Hey, Ken," she began, a smile creeping up on her face. "Are you going with anyone to the Youth Day Dance on Wednesday? Because, I'm not going with anyone yet, and if you're not going with anyone, and I'm not going with anyone, then -"

"No! I...I can't!" I blurted out loudly, causing Yolei to jump back a little in surprise. I calmed down a little, took a deep breath, and began to explain myself. "I can't, Yolei," I said, lowering my voice. "I just can't."

"Why?" Yolei asked timidly, as I saw her expression change from cheerful and anxious to gloomy. I felt horrible that I was doing this to her; it was clearly evident that she wanted to go with me to the dance, but...like I said, I couldn't. I wasn't going to that dance. It wasn't because of Yolei, and it wasn't because I used to be the Digimon Kaiser or anything...but I couldn't step foot inside that gymnasium Wednesday. I just couldn't.

"I...uh..." I gave a weak smile, as weak as my excuse. "I have to wash my hair that night. You understand," I said, hoping that I wasn't hurting Yolei's feelings too much.

"Oh..." Yolei stood up slowly, trying not to bump into anyone or anything now that she didn't have her glasses on, and I followed her, helping her up and escorting her to the cafeteria doors. It was the least I could do. "I understand...I guess..." Putting on a good show and hiding her real feelings, Yolei smiled warmly at me. "I'll just see you around, I guess."

I nodded my head, and began to apologize almost immediately. Here I was, trying to find some minor footholds of trust in this girl, so that she might one day come to trust me and believe in me as part of the DigiDestined team, and I just told a bald-faced lie, right to her face. "I'm really sorry I -"

"No, it's okay," she said, her smile a sad one, as she walked through the cafeteria doors. "You don't have to say anything. Goodbye, Ken."

"Goodbye, Yolei." And with that, I turned around, already knowing that Yolei was walking towards the courtyard to meet the others, and made my solitary way to the computer room.

   [1]: http://www.virtue.nu/candlelight



	8. Part Four: Tuesday Afternoon

The Dance  
Tuesday Afternoon

Remember: I won't post the next part to this story until I get 10 reviews, so R&R, please!

> **3:05 P.M.  
Tuesday 15 May  
Odaiba High**

Matt

I saw her leave the high school through the heavy metal doors of the West entrance, alone. Her hair was pulled back with barrettes as usual, for she had long ago left her helmet in the recesses of her closet. She looked better that way; the helmet hid her face too much, and it covered her untamed auburn hair so that it gave her a terrible case of hat hair when she took it off. She was smiling - as always - and I watched her walk onto the near empty quad as I leaned against the outside wall of the gymnasium.

I wasn't waiting for her. Really; I wasn't. I don't care about her. I never did.

"What," I said, shoving my hands into my pockets and keeping my eyes to the ground. "You don't say hello anymore, Sora?" I tried to play the cool loner part to the best of my abilities; I leaned against the wall non-chalantly, my shoulders hunched and my eyes to the ground, acting as if I didn't care if she answered me or not. I was a real rebel...but I wasn't sure if I had a cause or not. Not unless she answered...

Sora turned in my direction, and I could even tell without looking at her that her face brightened. Sora was the kind of person where you could just predict how they will act, if you know them long enough. And I knew her long enough to know when her face brightened with a smile. "Hey, Matt!" she said. I looked up at her as she walked towards me cheerful as ever. "What's up?" she asked. I tried to keep my cool.

I shrugged. "Heard you're going to the dance with Tai," I said, to which Sora nodded.

"Yeah..." she said, a bit uneasily. "So what?"

"Well, I'm just wondering when you stopped talking to your best friend." I looked her in the eyes, my blue eyes an ice cold stare. "And when he had to hear from T.K. about your life."

"Matt, I..." Sora began, but I cut her off.

"Why didn't you tell me, Sora?" I was disgusted. Why wouldn't she tell me what was going on in her life? Sora had considered me to be one of her best friends since grade school; what was changing all that? Was it the same thing that was changing how I was seeing her? "Why are you leaving me out of your life?"

"I..." Sora seemed at a loss for words. "I don't know," she said, frustrated. "It doesn't concern you, anyway."

"Of course it concerns me!" I said, a little too loud for my liking. My cold stare, once trying to put up an angry front in front of Sora, was now breaking down, and I could feel my emotions rise to the surface. This wasn't good. If it ever got out to Sora about how I felt about her, she wouldn't forgive me. Tai wouldn't forgive me. And I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. "Of course it concerns me," I said again, this time a bit softer. "You and Tai...are my best friends."

"Well, I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Sora said, her voice gentle and sincere. "So now you know. I'll see you at the dance, Matt," she said, and turned to leave.

"Hey," I called back after her. I immediately put my "cool dude" look back on, staring at the ground again. "I don't even know why you're going to the dance with that jerk."

Sora spun around on her heels at this comment, a look of confusion and defense in her eyes. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "He's not a jerk. You just said he was your best friend!"

I shrugged again. "Yeah, he is...but you gotta admit, Sora, Tai can really be a jerk sometimes."

Sora stuck to her ground, and glared at me, her hands resting on her hips. "He is not a jerk, Matt," she said defiantly. "And I wish you wouldn't say that about him. I'm going to the dance with him, and I don't care what you have to say about it."

"Well, do you want to know what I heard?" I walked up to Sora and narrowed my eyes. I was ready to lie to her, right there, in front of her face. I didn't want to hurt her - and I knew that if I told her this, it would - but the words just came out of my mouth, a rumor that I had heard giggled among some senior girls in the hallway. And I knew it would break her heart.

"What?"

I smiled as I spoke the lie to my best friend. "I heard the only reason Tai even wants to go to the dance with you is because you'll give it up to him."

Sora's eyes narrowed in confusion and rising anger. "What are you talking about?" she questioned.

"Tai knows you've liked him for a long time," I continued, even adding on to the rumor from my own personal memory. "And you'd do just about anything for him. So, he thought that you'd just be an easy lay." I snorted critically. "Though I don't know why he would choose you to 'do the nasty' with, when he could easily land a sophomore cheerleader who will go down on him much faster than you."

And, before I could even anticipate what Sora would do next, I felt my head jerk to the side, and a stinging pain grew on my left cheek.

> **3:08 P.M.  
Tuesday 15 May  
Odaiba High**

Sora

I stood there, seething, as I watched Matt's hand fly up to his face, shielding the spot where my palm connected with his cheek. I was mad. Mad as hell. How in the world could Matt say such things about Tai?

"How dare you say that!" I yelled at him, my heart full of anger and confusion. "I thought you were Tai's friend, Matt! I...I thought you were my friend."

"Hey," he said in his non-chalant voice, angering me even more. Why was he acting like such a jerk?! "I was just trying to warn you. You might not know Tai as well as you think." Matt smirked, his hand still on his cheek, and I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering how I could have ever fallen for an asshole like him.

"You're lying, Matt," I said, feeling stubborn tears rush to my eyes. I didn't want to cry...this wasn't something I was going to cry over. Matt was just being a jerk, for whatever reason he had, and I didn't want to get involved with it. If he had a problem with Tai and I going to the dance together, then it was his own problem. I didn't want to hear another word from Matt Ishida's full, red lips.

"Sora," his voice called out to me, and I curled my hand into a fist at my side, ready to clock him one if he decided to try anything funny. He stood up straight, and looked me in the eye, his ice blue eyes trapping me, forcing me not to look away. "Just remember: your white knight may not turn out to be who you think."

I shook my head at him, not wanting to talk to him, or even see him anymore that day. I didn't think I could take it. What had happened to him? Matt used to be so nice...his personality and his emotions, not his looks, were what really attracted me to him in the first place. Why was he acting like this all of a sudden? Maybe I did make the right decision about Tai and the Youth Day Dance. Maybe I really don't know Matt as well as I thought. But still; I can't believe that he'd act so mean just over me and Tai...

"Fuck you," I spat back, as I turned from the blond rebel and nearly ran from sight.

> **3:09 P.M.  
Tuesday 15 May  
Odaiba High**

Tai

My brow creased in confusion as I heard a familiar voice yell an obscenity as loud for the whole high school to hear, and then saw Sora out of the corner of my eye, running from the West entrance of the school, obviously upset about something.

I jumped in front of her path, stopping her ever so calmly from running away from me as well. "Whoah, Sora," I said, my voice full of concern. "What's wrong?" I looked into her face, which she tried to hide from my view, and saw that hot, fresh tears were running down her face. "Why are you crying?"

Sora sniffled, and swiped at her tearstained cheeks with the sleeve of her uniform. "It's nothing, Tai," she said, trying to control her body's sobs. "I'm fine, really."

I pushed her hair back delicately from her face, and looked her in the eye, my fate etched with concern and compassion. "It doesn't look like you're fine," I said softly, letting my fingers linger a little longer on the hot skin of her face. "What's wrong, Sora?" I asked again. "Please; tell me."

I opened my arms out to her, and Sora accepted them, allowing me to wrap her in a warm bear hug. "It's...it's Matt," she said, as she buried her head in my shoulder. "He said some awful, terrible things about us..."

"He did?" I questioned. "What did he say?"

Sora looked up at me, her eyes glistening with tears. "He said that...that you were a jerk, and that you only wanted to go to the dance with me..." she gulped down the last words; it must have been very difficult for her to repeat what Matt had said. "...for sex."

I was appalled at this. I couldn't believe that Matt had said this. God, what did he have against me? Against Sora and I together? I didn't care what he thought about her, or us being together; he wasn't going to hurt Sora like this. I couldn't stand to see her cry. "Oh, Sora," I said sincerely. "You have to believe that what he said...it's just not true. I would never..." I bit my own lip in anger and frustration, not wanting to think about what else Matt had to say about me to Sora before she ran away from him in tears. "Sora, I really like you. And I care too much about you to do anything like that to you. I hope you believe me..."

"Oh, I knew Matt was lying," she said, as she rested her head on my chest, snaking her arms around my waist tightly. "What really hurt was that he was saying all these horrible things about us. I thought we were all friends..." I felt Sora tense up in my arms, and I new she was on the verge of crying again. "I don't know why he's angry with us...with me. I just don't know..."

Sora came in closer to me, her body pressed against mine, yet her touch was bittersweet for me. I knew why Matt had said what he did to Sora, and furthermore, I knew why Sora was taking it so badly. Even a dope like me could figure out this simple math problem, and the fact was, I was the one who could easily be taken out of the equation. "Thanks, Tai," Sora said, her eyes closed, enjoying this comfort. "For being here. It really means a lot to me."

I kissed the top of Sora's head lightly, wondering when my girl would finally wise up and figure out that the grass on the other side is not only greener, but it's thinking of her. "I'd do anything for you, Sora," I proclaimed softly, holding her closely.


	9. Tuesday Afternoon (continued)

The Dance  
Tuesday Afternoon  
(continued)

Remember: I won't post the next part to this story until I get 10 reviews, so R&R, please!

> **3:12 P.M.  
Tuesday 15 May  
Odaiba High**

__Davis

"You've got to be kidding me," Yolei said as she walked briskly from the school building to the soccer field after school, as I rushed to catch up to her. "Why would you want to take me to the dance? Furthermore, why on earth would I want to go with you?"

I sneered at her sarcastic tone, matching it with my own. "Well, who else do you have to go with? Izzy? Joe? Ken?"

Yolei's face clouded over, and I could see I hit a nerve. "My parents aren't too happy that I'm even friends with an eighteen-year old boy; they would never let him take me to the Youth Day Dance. Ken told me he was 'washing his hair' -" which neither of us doubted, "- and Izzy said he was too busy formatting his hard drive that night." She looked over to me, her eyes shifting from cold and defensive to sad and vulnerable. "So no, I don't have anyone else to go with."

"Then go with me!" I exclaimed, a little too excitedly, which made Yolei jump a little at my enthusiasm. Okay, so I was a bit over-zealous with asking her, but God knows I needed the homework help from Izzy, and no dumb Yolei was going to stand in my way of getting it. Besides, I had no one else to go with, either, and I wasn't all that thrilled with the idea of going to the Youth Day dance with my sister.

Yolei smiled slyly. "Kari wouldn't go with you, huh?" she said to deliberately get on my nerves. I rolled my eyes, not wanting to think about what she and T.K. were planning on doing during the dance...or after it, for that matter.

"So neither of us have a date," I said. "so why don't we just...go with each other?"

Yolei stopped short, which, since I was walking behind her in an attempt to catch up with her, caused me to trip and fall into her, nearly toppling both of us over onto the grass. She gave me a sneer, which I could only respond with an innocent, "don't-hurt-me" puppy-dog face, so she wouldn't clock me one in front of the whole soccer team.

Yolei narrowed her eyes and stared me straight in the face. Okay, I can't say I wasn't a bit intimidated. "You pick me up at seven-thirty. I have a curfew of ten-thirty, so if you're late, I get to give you one punch in the arm on Thursday for every minute you're not there. You have my address, right?"

"Um, yeah..." I stammered as Yolei continued to attack me with demands.

"I don't want to be picked up by cab, bike, bus, or train, and there is no way I'm walking to the dance. Either you get your parents to drive you, or you rent a limo. If I see someone else I want to dance with, I'll ditch you with no questions asked and no guarantee that I'll leave with you. I'll be wearing a white dress, so you buy me a white corsage. You will be buying me a corsage, Davis. You will wear the proper attire for this event; that means you wear a suit. No shorts, no sneakers, no wristbands, no stupid leather gloves -" she pulled my goggles from my head, only to allow them to snap back onto my forehead, with considerable pain and annoyance, "- and especially no goggles."

"I don't want to hear any stupid boy conversation from your mouth, either. When we get to the dance, you do not talk about gross things you've eaten this week, disgusting things Demiveemon coughed up, the latest episode of Gundam Wing -" even though I knew she watched that show without letting on, "- various scabbing wounds on your body from whatever physical activity you got them from, or how much you want to be with Kari instead of me, because that will just be so annoying I'll have to kick your butt in front of half the kids in Odaiba."

I stood there with my mouth wide open and my eyes bugged out. What did she just say?

"Do you have all that, Davis, or am I gonna have to write it on your forehead for you to remember it?"

I snapped out of my gawking session and narrowed my eyes, thinking about how much Izzy was going to owe me after this. "Sure, Yolei. Whatever. Pick you up at seven-thirty."

"And don't be late." And with that, Yolei turned down the avenue towards her house, and left me at the corner, wondering how I was ever going to find a suit for tomorrow.

> **3:48 P.M.  
Tuesday 15 May  
718 Odaiba Terrace Apartment 4-F**

Cody

"Mom, I'm home!" I yelled as I walked into my family's apartment, shutting the door behind me. After taking off my shoes and backpack in the entry, I found my mother cleaning in the kitchen. I smiled, and bowed to her politely.

"How was school today, Cody?" she asked with a smile. I smiled brightly back. I was happy to be home.

"It was every eventful," I said, grabbing an apple from the basket of fruit my mother laid out on the dining table. "Today, we learned about world history, and the Legion of Harmonious Fists in China." I liked world history; really I did. I thought it was quite interesting, but what I really loved to learn about in history class was the samurai of ancient Japan. They were so stoic, and so committed to their roles as warriors of the shogun. But sometimes I wonder if they ever had the chance to have a social life...

My mother nodded, and patted me on the head affectionately. "That's very nice, dear." Returning to her greasy stove, she continued to speak. "I was setting up your birthday party for Thursday, Cody," she said as I sat down at the table, merrily munching on the fruit. "Now, do you want a yellow cake, or an ice cream cake? I wasn't sure, so I decided to wait to ask you."

"Yellow cake," I said matter-of-factly. "I don't want an ice cream cake. I'll be thirteen, mom; I'm too old for that."

My mother's demeanor changed from perky to solemn, and she stopped cleaning. "I'm glad you brought that up, Cody," she said, and turned to face me. I looked up at her curiously. "You are pretty old right now, and I think that you can handle this."

"What?" I asked, getting little scared of my mother's serious tone.

"I don't think you need to take off of school tomorrow," she said. "I think that you're old enough so that you don't have to stay home from school tomorrow, and besides, I don't want you to miss too much in school."

My mouth dropped open in surprise, and my eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "I...guess it's all right with me," I said warily, as my mother smiled warmly at me. "But we'll still be going tomorrow...right?"

My mother's smile faded, and her eyes grew sad. "I'm sorry, sweetheart," she said, placing her hand lovingly on my shoulder. "But I can't this year. Work is so hectic this year, and I really can't take a day off tomorrow. I've got a deadline for one of my clients the end of this week, so I probably won't even be able to come home tomorrow until late. I hope you understand."

My eyes widened with the realization that my mother wouldn't be taking me to the most important day of my year, and almost immediately my lower lip began to tremble, and my eyes filled with pools of tears. "B..but...but you can't!" I cried, trying to hold the tears in. I couldn't believe she was doing this...didn't she care? I thought she cared...why didn't she want to go as much as I did?

"I'm sorry, Cody, but there's just no way." My mother sighed, and turned away from me. "You can go yourself if you want," she said. "It might be helpful for you, to go alone this year."

But it was far too late for my emotions to be left in check, and far too little words were said by my mother to convince me that she even wanted to be there. I jumped up from my seat, with such force that the chair teetered and toppled over with a _crash_. "You can't do this! I thought you cared!" I yelled at my mother, who turned around in shock and anger.

"Don't you ever use that tone of voice with me, young man," she said menacingly. She would most probably threaten a grounding or a lashing if I continued on, but right now, I was too angry at her to care. She was supposed to be there...she was supposed to care. And now, my mother wasn't even going to see him...

I felt hot, stinging tears run down my cheeks. She reached out to comfort me, but I shirked away from her, not wanting her to even touch me. "I thought you _cared_..." I said, softer this time, and took off and ran into my room, slamming the door behind me, not really caring to hear my mother breaking down and crying in the kitchen.


	10. Part Five: Wednesday (Youth Day)

The Dance  
Wednesday - Youth Day

Wow, you guys review FAST! Hehe...I'm going to have to start writing quicker... ::g::

I know this one's short, but I needed to make it up to Ariqu and all the rest of the Takari fans! ^_^

> **3:26 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High - Gymnasium**

****T.K.

I rolled my eyes and grunted as my brother handed me - more like threw me - yet another heavy milk crate full of percussion instruments, and smiled when he saw me nearly fall over from the weight of the carton.

Well, what did you expect? I'm not the most coordinated person in the world, and I'm definitely not the strongest. Obviously, Matt thought that this was the funniest thing in the world.

"Very funny," I muttered, as I dropped the carton down next to the metallic-painted drumset onstage.

Matt smiled again as he hooked up a few electrical cords into his guitar's amplifier from the fuse box on the side of the stage. "It is, isn't it," he said cheerfully, enjoying toying with his baby brother and making my day a little gloomier than normal.

I was helping Matt and his band, under severe protest, to set up for the Youth Day Dance at the school that night, and, just to make my life difficult, Matt had reserved all the heavy packages for me in advance. It wasn't like I was complaining; even though we now both lived in Odaiba and went to the same school, I still never got the chance to see my older brother or really have a heart-to-heart conversation with him that went past the boundaries of him writing a new love song. And I really did need to talk to him today...about tonight...

"Listen, Matt," I said in an earnest voice. Matt stopped what he was doing and looked up at me, waiting for me to continue. "I...I really need to ask you for a favor."

Matt shrugged his shoulders. "Shoot," he said, returning to his work.

"Well, it's really two favors," I began. "First, I need to ask...are you going to be home tonight? At all, I mean?"

"Why do you want to know?"

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other awkwardly. "Well, Dad told me he works late Wednesday nights, and if you were, like, going out with friends or something, and you weren't going to be home tonight after the dance, I was wondering if I could...maybe...stay there tonight."

I wasn't going to include that I wanted to stay there with _Kari_ tonight. That would raise way too many questions, and I'd probably get the lecturing of my life from Matt; that, not to mention the ultimate lecture from Dad and a massive grounding from Mom if he told them. No; I'd wait until the last possible moment to tell him. Then, maybe, he won't beat me up too much for suggesting it...

"Why do you want to stay there tonight?" he asked. "What's so wrong with your house?"

"Um...I actually, kinda...already told Mom I was staying over at Davis's, so..."

Matt stood up from his work, and sighed. "My 'big brother' alarm in my head is going off, T.K.," he said. "Why are you lying to Mom? And why don't you want to be home tonight?"

I smiled, and tried to look innocent. I guess the time to tell him was now or never. "That brings me to my second favor," I said, as Matt looked at me, confused. "Would you...um...happen to have any..._ condoms_ with you?"

I could swear I blushed as my big brother's jaw dropped to the floor.

I immediately began to explain myself. "Well, see, because...you know, I was just wondering...and if you could, well, spare one, or two..."

My brother looked shocked. "Why on Earth would you be needing condoms?" he asked, already knowing too much to want to hear the answer. I opened my mouth to speak, but Matt held his hand up, silencing me. "No, wait," he said. "I don't want to hear it; I know what you're going to say, and yes, I know why you would need condoms. But..." his brow creased in confusion. "Why do you need condoms, T.K.? Unless you were thinking of..."

Matt's eyes widened, and it looked like he was going to be sick. I nodded, solemnly. I didn't think he was going to take it this hard. And God, what if he told Mom and Dad... "We thought about it for a long time," I said firmly. "And Kari and I came to this decision..."

"You are not," he said, pointing a finger at me menacingly. "Having sex. That is final. God, T.K., you're only fourteen..."

"And we both think that this is a good idea!" I shouted back, loud enough to make my point, but not so loud as to have the other guys in the band hear me. "Matt, we love each other! We both want this to happen. Not that I'd think you would understand or anything..."

"What do you mean by that?" he barked back. I could see the defensiveness growing in his eyes.

I shrugged. "Well, it seems that the only girl you've ever loved doesn't feel the same way about you," I said, referring to a particular auburn-haired junior that I know caught my big brother's eye. "And you wouldn't understand how Kari and I feel about each other, because you've never felt that way about another person before. Not with the other person feeling the same way, that is. So you wouldn't get why we would want to do this." I sighed. "You couldn't."

"Don't even," he said threateningly. "Bring her up." I knew I hit a nerve when I said something about Sora. Matt always seemed to have a soft spot when it came to talking about girls he really liked...and Sora was no exception. He returned to the topic at hand. "Have you even thought this through?" he asked, frustrated.

I nodded. "We both decided that we want to do this," I said seriously.

"And you've decided that you don't want to wait. You really want to do this?" I nodded. Matt shook his head disapprovingly, and looked down at the ground. "I really don't think you should be doing this -"

"Well," I said, interrupting him. "I don't really care what you think." Matt sighed, defeated. If there was anything he knew about me, it was that I was as stubborn as a mule when it came to something I believed in. And I believed in Kari and me. "Do you have the condoms, or not?"

Matt grudgingly walked over to his guitar case, which held the acoustic guitar he had not-so-ironically named Sara, and opened the case. He pulled out a small, flat, square package, one that I had already known about from Health class. He hesitated before he gave it to me. "And if I don't give it to you?" he said, holding it up in his hand.

"It won't stop me," I said diligently. "I can just get one from someone else. I'm sure Tai will have lots of those handy for tonight."

Matt's face contorted into a scowl, and I knew I hit yet another nerve. "Don't bring him up, either," he said coldly, and tossed me the carefully wrapped package.

I caught it with one hand as it nearly effortlessly sailed through the air. "And the apartment?" I questioned.

"...Will be...empty," Matt said with a defeated sigh. I smiled in triumph. "I guess I can go out to an after-dance party with the band, but I'm not promising anything. And you've got to be out by seven; that's when Dad usually comes home."

I nodded thankfully. "You won't regret this," I said excitedly.

Matt smiled sadly. "But I bet _you_ will," he said to me.

I shrugged. I was in such a good mood, even my brother's pessimism couldn't bring me down. I was going to make this a night to remember for Kari and me...a night neither of us was going to regret. "You're just sore because I'm going to have sex before you," I joked with my big brother.

Matt cracked a smile, and snorted in response. "Please, little bro," he said, handing me another carton, this one full of electrical equipment. "don't remind me."


	11. Wednesday (continued)

The Dance  
Wednesday - Youth Day  
(continued)

You guys review soooo quickly...I'm running out of parts! ^_^

To all of the people that have been making demands in the reviews:

1) I don't give a damn if I'm dragging my feet with this story; actually, that's the way I wanted it originally. I wanted to see if I could write a story that would be over 100 pages long, and to tell you the truth, I'm very close to doing just that.

2) Yes, the rating IS PG-13. I believe that rating covers my ass enough for this fic, considering I use foul language and adult situations. Don't ask me to change it to an R because you're a prude.

3) Everyone is right. Cody's plotline is running way too long...and too sneaky. I'm not letting anyone know what happens to him, and that's not good, because then no once can know. (Except for that one person who guessed it...) I will be writing his part clearer in the future, so watch out for that.

4) On the "technical problems" (their age) of TK and Kari's consummation of their relationship: I don't remember learning in sex class that your genitals form at age 16. Those two wacky kids have the right "equipment" (excuse me for being blunt) for the job, and their age has no bearing on their physical capabilities. (But I won't say if they actually DO it or not...)

I'm very pleased that no one has Jun-bashed my reviews yet. ^_^ Are we finally accepting that she exists and is not the devil spawn trying to corrupt our Matt? We accept? Thank you. I'm suprised that more people dislike me badmouthing Yolei. But, just for the record, I love Yolei. Not in the ambiguous "I wanna be sisters" way, but I love her enough not to let her get hurt in this story. Well...not _too_hurt.

As for if this story wil be Sorato or Taiora, Kenyako or Daiyako, Mimou or Mimato (where are you getting THAT from???), I'm not telling. I think you're all just going to have to wait until the end of the story.

- wakaba-chan

> **4:17 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba Mall**

June

"What about this one?" I stood in front of a full-length mirror at Fashion Creation in the Odaiba Mall, holding a navy blue taffeta dress in front of my body. I turned towards my would-be fashion critic...who had taken it upon himself to fall asleep while sitting on a bench inside the store.

Frowning, I kicked the leg on the bench roughly, rudely rousing my little brother, who woke up with a startled jump. I smirked as I watched him squint in annoyance and confusion, and thrust the dress in front of him. "What do you think?" I demanded, more than asked.

Davis yawned loudly, and looked up at me with an annoyed glance. "I think I want to go home, June," he said flatly.

Okay, I'll say it. He was completely ticking me off.

I pursed my lips angrily, and took the dress back, scrutinizing it once again in the mirror. "I think this dress is nice," I said, mostly to myself because I knew Davis wasn't listening at all to what I had to say. "It really tones down the red in my hair, and I think it'll go nicely with the mirrored ball and lights the dance committee set up in the gym." I turned to Davis again, demanding his opinion...and it had better been the same as mine. "It's perfect, isn't it, Davis?"

Davis sighed, and rested his head on his hand. "Too flouncy," he said. "What's with all that puffy material?"

"It's _tulle_," I said, repressing the urge to smack my brother upside the head. Why, out of all people, did I have to drag him with me to pick out a dress for the Youth Day Dance?

Davis shrugged. "Well, I don't like it," he declared. "And I bet that _tulle_ stuff is itchy."

I rolled my eyes at my little brother. "You obviously have no fashion sense," I said, stating the obvious. Saying that my brother had no fashion sense was like saying the Tokyo Tower wasn't that tall. I looked him up and down, from his dull brown cargo shorts to his ugly yellow wristbands to the _coup de grace_, the hideously large goggles strapped above his forehead. It was a wonder that I was even allowing myself to be seen with this fashion disaster in the mall.

Davis sighed impatiently. "Can we go yet?" he whined.

I shook my head. "I have to pay for the dress first, and then -" I pointed at him, causing him to jump in his seat, "you have to go and buy a suit."

I heard him groan mournfully, and deliberately to try to embarrass me in the store. "Why can't we just not buy me a suit and say we did?" He said, standing up from the bench in protest.

I shook my head again. "You're getting a suit for tonight, little brother," I insisted. "And I don't want to hear anymore of your whining, you got me?"

Davis crossed his arms in front of his chest. I swear, I thought people were supposed to grow out of temper tantrums. "I can't believe you're doing this to me," he mumbled, as I led him - nearly pulling him by force - over to the cash register, along with my perfect dress for the dance. "Just because I have a date to the dance -"

"It's not just any date to the dance, Davis," I said excitedly. "It's your first date to the Youth Day dance. That's a big thing, whether you like it or not." And, as I received my change from the cashier, Davis resisted even more to being pulled out of the store and into the Suits by Kyouchi shop across the hall.

I wanted Davis to have a wonderful time at this Youth Day Dance; last year, he had such a bad time, since his friends Yolei and Ken didn't show up, and Kari and T.K. went to the dance as a couple. He had hung around me the whole time, and he didn't have any fun at all for his first Youth Day Dance ever. I wanted him to actually enjoy himself this time, and it was all for the better that he had a date to go with this year, though he hasn't told me who it is yet. And if this girl wanted him to wear a suit, as he has been complaining about for the past twenty four hours, then he will be wearing a suit.

Planning and thinking about Davis's first date for the Youth Day Dance was making me think of my own date; the blind one, that is. I kept wondering if this was going to be a real drag or not - was I setting myself up to be disappointed, or was I underestimating this geeky sophomore Sora told me so little about? I sighed, and absently curled a lock of my unruly red hair around my finger. If only I was a little more good-looking, then I could get a guy. If only I didn't have the reputation of being a tease and the school tramp, as the ever-so-malevolent Michelle and the "cool crowd" of senior girls claimed I was. If only...

As I dragged Davis across the mall's corridor to the men's suit shop, something distracted Davis and caught him from the corner of his eye, and he stopped fidgeting momentarily. "Hey," he said, pointing to his right. "Look who it is."

I looked in the direction where he was pointing, and saw a girl with dyed pink hair walking out of the Virgin Megastore, alone. I immediately recognized the girl as someone from the school, but I didn't really know her personally. All I knew was that she was one of Michelle's cronies - I heard she used to be from New York - and that turned me off to talking to her right away. "Come on, let's go," I said to Davis, grabbing hold of his arm and trying to pull him away, but my brother, who must either be as dumb as a post or have a huge amount of wax in his ears, didn't hear me, and waved over to the pink haired girl.

"Hey!" He shouted to the girl. "Hey, Mimi! Over here, it's Davis!"

The girl looked at both of us as if we were crazy, or stalkers, or maybe both. I smacked my hand against my forehead and shook my head depressingly. Why did my brother have to make a scene in some shape or form everywhere we went?

Much to my surprise, the popular girl smiled after a second of recognition, and started walking towards us down the long path. "That's Mimi Tachikawa," Davis said to me before she approached. "She goes to our school."

I gave him a quizzical look. "And just how do you know her?" I asked.

"Well, she's a former Digi..." I heard Davis taper off, and then he changed his story entirely, for erasons I didn't really understand. What was a Digi, anyway? "She's just a friend."

"Hi, Davis," the pink haired girl said cheerfully when she arrived. "I haven't seen you in a long time. How are you?" She asked, to which my brother just nodded and laughed. I rolled my eyes. I couldn't believe that Davis Motomiya and I were actually related. "And...'V'?" she questioned. My brother nodded affirmatively, and I just stared blankly at the both of them. Was I missing something? It always happend when Davis is with his friends; they sound like they're talking a different language. Why don't I ever get what they're all talking about?

"Mimi," Davis said. "I'd like you to meet June, my older sister. She's a junior at Odaiba High."

"Nice to meet you," I said, outstretching my hand. At least he didn't get the introduction wrong.

> **4:21 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba Mall**

****Mimi

"Nice to meet you," the girl who was just introduced to me as June Motomiya said as she stretched out her hand. I smiled warmly and took the red-haired girl's hand in my own, shaking it cheerfully. It was always nice to meet someone new.

"You, too," I said back. I squinted, analyzing June's face. I could swear I knew everyone at Odaiba High, but June's face just didn't look familiar to me. It was strange; I usually knew all of the DigiDestined's families, even Yolei's crazy older siblings. But for some reason, June just didn't ring a bell. "I don't think I've seen you around school, June," I said, giving her a questioning look. "Where do you hang around, usually?"

"Oh, I usually eat my lunch in the library," she said, and I smiled and nodded, mulling it over in my head. Hmmm...her name is June, and she hangs out in the library...I didn't know if it was her, but Michelle and the other senior girls had told me about a June girl - junior, I think - who was a real slut, and had once gone out with Roger Ohtori before I moved back here. I wasn't sure if this was the same June, but I wasn't going to straight out ask her, and disrespect both her and Davis at the same time.

"Mimi's going to the dance with _Roger Ohtori_, June," Davis sad in a mocking manner, to which June responded with a roll of her eyes and a quick shove to her younger brother. So, she was the same June. She didn't seem all that slutty to me...sure, I remembered her hanging around backstage at some of Matt's band's concerts - some of the many that Michelle had dragged me to - but she didn't seem any worse than any of the other girls there. I knew that Michelle exaggerated a lot, and she probably spread that rumor about June just because she was mad at her. I instantly grew a heavier dislike for Michelle and the "cool crowd": they were embarrassing this girl for probably no reason at all. And she seemed nice enough.

June gave me a sly, yet knowing, smile. "So, _you're_ his next 'lucky lady,'" she said, and I rolled my eyes in amusement, recognizing the famous line Roger seemed to use on all of his girlfriends. "What did it take for you to get that hunk of beef?"

I shrugged my shoulders, not wanting to tell her that I hung out with the very same girls that were slandering her all around school. "She used to live in New York," Davis said for me, matter-of-factly. Hmmph. Well, I could have said that for myself.

June smiled warmly - I'm really starting to like this girl - but then her face took on a serious expression. "Look, Mimi," she said in a tone that made me pay close attention. "You seem nice enough, and I don't want to scare you or anything, but...watch out for Roger, all right?"

I creased my brow in confusion, even though I had the inkling that I knew what she was talking about. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Roger can be a little..._aggressive_ at times," she said seriously. "He doesn't like to take no for an answer, some of the time." June pulled me closer to her, and spoke in a lower tone so that no one passing could hear. "Believe me, I've been through the typhoon that is Roger Ohtori, and I know what I'm talking about. Trust me on this one."

"Do you mean..." I trailed off, then looked around us, searching for any prying ears. There were none; aside from the three of us, the mall was completely empty of people, except for an old couple down the hall in the food court. Everyone probably went straight home from school this afternoon - something that, even back when I lived here, was tough to get done - and were already getting ready for the dance. I whispered in her ear, almost ashamed to ask. "Did he force you to...you know..."

June nodded solemnly, and my eyes nearly bulged out of my head. "Well, not really," she said, seeing that I was majorly freaking out over this. I mean, sure, I wanted to go with Roger to the dance; what sixteen year old wouldn't? But was I going to be in trouble if I did? "I mean, I wasn't really sure if I had wanted to when we did," she began, "but Roger can be very persuasive when he wants to be. And when he wants sex, he is _very_ persuasive."

"EEW!" My head shot up, and both June and I looked towards the noise, seeing a very disgusted Davis making a face at his sister's comment. "Like I really wanted to hear about my sister having sex," he said sarcastically. "Do Mom and Dad know?"

June rolled her eyes again and swatted at the younger boy. I could really see now how having a little brother like Davis can really get on your nerves. I was just glad my parents only had one child. "They won't know," she said assertively, "if you don't tell them. Or maybe I'll just slip out you have that really smelly, disgusting pet in your room, that I know they don't know about." That effectively shut Davis up, and although it didn't occur to me then, since I was trying too much not to laugh out loud at the scene of sibling rivalry, June was talking about DemiVeemon. And I didn't even know she knew Davis was a DigiDestined...maybe she didn't. I hoped she didn't. That would just make things way too compicated. It was hard enough to save the world when you're ten, but try explaining the theory of a shadow dimension to your parents when you don't even understand it. It's pretty tough, I'll tell you what.

"Well, come on, June," Davis said stubbornly. "Let's stop talking about your sex life -" he shuddered while saying that, which was pretty funny, "- and go to that stupid suit store."

June nodded, and started walking off towards Kyouchi's Suits across the hall. Before she left, she turned back to me, and smiled. "It was nice meeting you, Mimi," she said cheerfully, and I smiled back. "Just remember what I said, okay? Watch out for yourself. Roger's a slick guy; watch out for him, or you might do something you'll regret!"

"I won't forget, June," I called back, as the Motomiyas left me alone in the mall to gather my thoughts about a certain blonde senior I was going to the dance with...and a certain blue-haired senior I wasn't. "I definitely won't forget."


	12. Wednesday

The Dance  
Wednesday - Youth Day  
(continued)

Remember: I won't post the next part to this story until I get 10 reviews, so R&R, please!

> **4:42 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
718 Odaiba Terrace, Apartment 8-H**

****Yolei

"So, how do I look?"

I stood in front of my three older siblings, my arms outstretched to show off my dress for the dance. My oldest sister oohed at me, and I could see in her eyes that asking her was a bad idea. "You just look so adorable!" she cooed. I rolled my eyes, and hoped that she wouldn't start to get overemotional and actually hug me.

My other sister, who was home from college for a week-long break, looked me up and down. I saw her taking into consideration every part of my outfit, from my white spaghetti-strapped dress to my glasses-free face, all the way to my hair, which I had put into a bun atop my head - and washed almost eight times since I had gotten home from school, to try to get at least some of the purple dye out of my hair. I don't know why I ever let Hawkmon convince me that violet was my color...

I waited for a sarcastic remark to come out of my sister's mouth. Knowing my sister, who was an ultra-feminist who, at college, decided that shaving her legs and underarms was oppressive, she wouldn't be able to hold back a scathing remark about how my high heels and my uncharacteristic primping for the dance reverted the international feminist movement back to the times of shogun concubines. That was how my sister was...actually, that was how all my siblings were. No matter what it was - ballet lessons, computer camp, or anything - my siblings always found a way to muck it all up.

Surprisingly, however, my sister simply smiled. "You look beautiful, Yolei," she said sincerely.

My mouth nearly dropped open. Was my sister actually being nice to me? "That's it?" I asked nervously. Just when was the other shoe going to fall? When was she going to say that I looked beautiful, and include that gigantic _but_ that I knew was coming? "No snide remarks? No man-bashing? Not even a comment on my eyeliner? That's just not like you!"

My sister shrugged in response. "It's a big day for you, Yolei," she said as she snapped her bubble gum. "I remember my first date to the Youth Day Dance. I wouldn't want a sister of mine to make me feel bad the whole night because of something she said about my dress." On that note, she shot a death glance in the direction of my oldest sister, who gave an innocent look back. Now, I'm not a genius - sure, I have a pretty good IQ level and I'm good with a computer, but I'm no Ken Ichiouji - but I kinda deduced that my sister had been in a situation like that before, and unfortunately for her, if an Inoue doesn't learn to be nice through bad experiences, an Inoue just doesn't learn to be nice.

Take my older brother, for instance, who had just finished shaving his head in the bathroom - yes, he does that, and he leaves little annoying hairs all in the sink - and looked at me with a cynical eye. He looked positively bored and annoyed that I asked him, along with my sisters, his opinion on my outfit. He yawned, and scratched his head lazily. "What are you trying to pull off, _geekazoid_?" He said, using his "pet" name for me ever since I beat him at Donkey Madness when I was six. "You're dressed like an angel. You're such a devil, you're never gonna fool anyone."

I rolled my eyes. It figured that my dweeby older brother would make a stupid comment. My older sister threw a throw pillow from her position on the couch at him, and it landed squarely, hitting him on his shiny bald head. "Dork," she said, as he gave her the evil eye from across the room. My oldest sister just laughed.

I smirked, not being able to help it in front of my siblings. Not only was it going to be one of the few times this year all four of us would be home - my sisters both lived outside of town - but it was hard not to laugh and have fun with my siblings. They were a big pain in the butt sometimes, but I know I would miss them if they were gone. "I'll take that as a compliment," I said to my brother, who was now mumbling about not getting enough respect from his own sisters, or something.

"Wow, you're all dolled-up, Yolei," my oldest sister said wistfully, calming down some from her "adorable" fit a minute ago. "This guy you're going with must really be something."

I took that as a direct offense to my integrity as a female on this earth, and as an offense to my eyesight, which, I must admit, could be better with my glasses. What did she mean by that? Davis is so not "something;" he's more like a nothing, actually. I mean, I didn't care about going to the Youth Day Dance with Davis...it was just that I actually had a date this year. Last year, I couldn't make it because I was sick with the Osaka flu - which had been spread around the school a few days earlier by a contaminated mystery meat shipment - and the year before, I hardly knew anyone who was going, and I hung around Joe and Izzy like a lost puppy. No, this wasn't about Davis; it was the pure romance of going to the dance on the arm of someone; _anyone_.

I rolled my eyes again - I seem to do that a lot around my siblings - and rested my hands on my hips. "Please don't make a big deal out of this," I whined to my sisters. Like that was going to help.

"How can I not make a big deal out of this?" My eldest sister replied. "This is your first date to the Youth Day Dance. It's a big thing. Why, I remember my first date to the Youth Day Dance..." She started to get those annoying twinkling stars in her eyes, that, knowing my overemotional sister, meant that she was getting nostalgic. Perfect. "...I went with David Nagsuki. We danced, we kissed, we stayed out all night..."

"...And three more Youth Day Dances and seven years later, look where it got you," my other sister said amusingly, poking her in her very plump - and very pregnant - stomach. "_Mrs._ Nagsuki." All my sister could do in reply was roll her eyes and laugh.

See? It's contagious. You can't help it when you're around my family.

"Well," my brother sighed. "You've shown us the dress. You've walked up and down the hall. You've done that girly spinny thing." I marvel at my brother's wit. "Now change out of that until you have to go. You don't want to get it dirty." Confused that my brother was the one who was being cautious and caring, I walked in a half-daze down the hall back to my room, but before I could shut the door and change, my brother called back to me, and trotted down the hall after me. "Look, Yolei," he said. "I just want you to know...you really do look pretty tonight. And you're gonna knock your boyfriend's socks off when he sees you."

I opened my mouth to protest that he wasn't my boyfriend, but I said nothing. It wasn't everyday that my brother was civil to me, and I didn't want to ruin it by speaking up. "Um...thanks," I said instead.

"Just don't let him push you around, or make fun of you tonight, you hear?" He said, giving me a playful yet effective shove, sending me stumbling into my room. I wasn't hurt; it was normal for my Neanderthal brother to do something like that. It was just strange that he was doing it while he was actually being nice to me. "Because making your life hell is my job, geekazoid!"

> **5:54 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
408 Hanaishi Drive, Apartment 5-C**

Ken

I walked past the kitchen of my family's small apartment, a small bookbag which I used to use to go to school when I was nine in tow, and I saw my mother, donned in her warm blue sweater and a smile, busily making dinner. She had her back to me, chopping up some vegetables I was sure I wouldn't like, but she could hear my footsteps against the linoleum floor. I could feel her smile, even though I could not see it.

"Are you leaving so soon, Ken?" she said in her cheerful voice. I blushed; I was trying to get by her and out of the door before she could ask me any questions. No such luck. "You should have dinner first before you go."

I smiled back at my mother as she turned around and wiped he hands off on her apron. "That's really okay, Mom," I said politely, shifting the bookbag uncomfortably from one shoulder to the other. "I...kinda wanted to get there before dark this year."

"Are you sure?" she pressed. "We're having fried liver and onions tonight, with lumpy mashed potatoes! I know that's your favorite."

The smile faded from my face. The dinner she was making wasn't my favorite; it was someone else's. "Mom, you know that's not my favorite," I said quietly. From the look on my mother's face, I could see that she understood she made a very costly mistake. "That was Sam's."

My mother nodded, and her cheerful smile turned into a somber frown. "Oh," was all that she could say.

I smiled weakly - a reminiscent smile - and I took that moment to make my way out of the apartment. "I'm gonna be going now, Mom," I said, placing a soothing hand on my mother's shoulder. "Tell Dad I left when he comes home from work."

My mother looked into my eyes, and I saw a fear in her eyes at the mention that I was leaving. I knew that this would happen; it happens every year. She tries every damn trick in the book to get me to stay at home tonight, and then, she cries all night when I'm gone until I return. I hate doing this to her - I know that she fears for my safety, being out at night and all - but one day, she's going to have to understand that this is something I have to do, and there's no way she'll be able to stop me, this year, or any year.

"At least have a snack," she said, returning to the kitchen countertop. She opened the refrigerator to her right and took out an apple, taking no time in slicing it up into sections. "I'll make you an apple, Ken, and if you don't want it now, you can have it later on when you leave, if you're cold."

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, she was bustling out of the kitchen and into the hall, opening the hall closet door and rummaging around the coats. "And here," she said, handing me my dark blue sweater, "you should bring this along in case you get hungry."

I smiled at my mother's absent-mindness. "So," I mused, "I should eat the sweater if I'm hungry later on, and the apple slices will keep me warm?"

My mother grinned at her own mistake, and soon, she was laughing at what she had said. "Oh, my," she declared, "I am quite out of it today. I'm just glad that I'm not operating any heavy machinery!"

I grinned at my mother. It was so nice to see her happy, and on this day, of all days. I knew how somber and upset she usually was every Youth Day, and I also knew how terrible it made her feel to know that I was going out alone every Youth Day as well. I wanted to make her feel better by staying home...but I couldn't. There was something more important waiting for me out there than there was inside my house.

"I've got to be going now, Mom," I said, grabbing the sliced apple and placing it in a Zip-Loc bag. I made my way towards the front door.

"Ken, wait!" my mother cried after me, as I had placed my hand on the doorknob. "Are you sure you want to do this, sweetie?" she asked, but more like pleaded. "Please; do something else tonight. Go to the movies. Stay at home. Just please; don't go. You know that Sam was your age when -"

"Would you rather have me go to the Youth Day Dance, Mom?" I asked her, a tinge of venom in my voice. I resented my mother then; she knew how important it was for me to do this tonight, and still, she didn't want me to go.

She shrank back, a little ashamed herself of her asking me to stay home. "I just don't want to lose both of you," she said in a timid voice. My heart broke then; I knew what she was saying was true. She was afraid of losing me - just like she lost Sam. "I can't lose both of you."

"You won't, Mom," I replied. "I promise, you won't."

I opened the front door of our apartment and took a step out. But then, I just remembered something very important. I ran back inside the house to see my mother returning to her kitchen work, a little slower and with less cheer than before. "Mom!" I said. She did not turn around. I asked, more urgently, "Did you remember to -"

"I might be out of it, Ken," she said, still not turning around. "But I wouldn't dare forget that."

I looked into the livingroom one last time before I left, and sighed with relief as I saw the slowly burning candles sitting beside my brother's photograph.


	13. Wednesday - Youth Day

The Dance  
Wednesday - Youth Day  
(continued)

Okay, I wanna apologize to author nevathefantasy, to whom I wrote a very scathing review of her fic, Complications. I wrote it mainly because I had just finished reading a forum subject on plagiarism in Digimon fanfics, and I really can't stand it when authors use plots by other authors nd claim them as their own (what I like to call "I Can't Believe It's Not Plagiarism!"). The truth is, I actually do like her fic; I think it's written well. I don't like that the concept of her fic is very similar to this one, but hey; if every author that ever wrote a "new DigiDestined" plotline (which, in my opinion, is bad to begin with) got peeved when a new one came on ff.n, then there would be thousands of surly Digimon fanfic authors out there.   
I'm sorry to nevathefantasy; I hate having people mad at me. 

> **6:40 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
245 Cherry Blossom Way, Apartment 8-H**

****Kari

Tai scrunched his face up in disgust as he scrutinized his black silk tie in the hall mirror, only fifteen minutes before he was to pick up Sora at her doorstep to take her to the Youth Day Dance. I, decked out in a black satin strapless dress that was sure to knock T.K.'s socks off, slapped my hand over my mouth to keep from giggling loudly as Tai tried to fix the unsatisfactory tie, attempting to juggle the purple lilac corsage box he bought for Sora and his shiny black "special occasion" shoes in his hands.

He caught me spying on his primping before the dance, and gave a half smile. "You should only know," he said, not taking his eyes off the mirror, "how much I put into this night. The suit, the corsage..."

"You combed your hair," observed with a smirk as I leaned against the wall, waiting for my unusually narcissistic brother to stop playing with his tie in the mirror. "And I see you've lightened up on the hair gel."

Tai's face broke out into a wistful grin. "She likes it better without," he said simply.

I smiled. My brother was so totally gone over this girl. I just hoped she didn't break his heart... "You ready to go, Tai?" I changed the subject, checking the clock in the livingroom. Even though it looked like we were going to be early, I didn't want to take any chances on anything wrong happening tonight. "Or am I going to have to pry you away from that mirror?"

Tai nodded, and looked in my direction - and stopped in his tracks. "What in hell are you wearing!?!" He gawked ay my slinky dress, his eyes bugging out on shock. I rolled my eyes. I knew my overprotective older brother was going to overreact at the sight of my dress; he usually overreacted at anything I wore that showed a little skin. He was always displeased with any sign of me growing up. I couldn't believe he still acted like I was just a kid - it's not like I was still eight, and he was protecting me from Piedmon in the Digiworld. I was fourteen, and all that protective big brother stuff was growing old.

"Tai, I'm not a little girl anymore," I reminded him. I had every right to wear this dress, revealing as it was. "And besides, Mom and Dad said it was perfectly fine."

Tai's shocked eyes moved towards the livingroom, where my parents sat on our beige linen couch, watching the evening news, his eyes searching for some explanation for my outfit. Without even looking in his direction, my mother felt his eyes upon them, and she answered, "Oh, Tai; what's the worst that could happen?" She said, and I smiled. It always felt goof to have your parents on your side instead of your brother's. "She's already bought the dress with her own money, and it's too late for her to change out of it now. Besides, we trust Kari. We know she's not going to do anything rash."

My brother sighed uneasily, but my mother's last remark made butterflies churn in my stomach. My parents were trusting me tonight enough to allow me to walk out that door wearing what looked like only half a dress - they were trusting me to not do anything out of the ordinary...or something I might regret tomorrow. And here I was, going out with T.K. to the Youth Day Dance, plotting and hoping to do something that my parents were definitely not going to approve of.

_Forget about it,_ my mind said, even though my conscience felt otherwise._ It's too late to change your mind now. Besides, what they don't know won't hurt them..._

"Well, if that's the case," Tai said, grabbing the keys to Dad's black Honda Civic on the kitchen countertop. "Then I guess I'll just have to accept everybody's good judgment. We should really be going, Kari," he said, turning to me. "We don't want to be late."

I rolled my eyes, this time in amusement. "Isn't that just what I said two minutes ago?" I asked, my words falling on Tai's deaf ears.

My parents turned their heads from their position on the couch to see us off. "You two have a good time with T.K. and Sora at the dance," my father said. "Tai, that's my car, so you better drive safely, and try not to be home too late."

And, as we crossed the hallway of our small apartment and I nearly got through the door without any further questions about my apparel or my date, my mother called out, "oh, and Kari! Have fun at Yolei's house after the dance!"

I blushed a deep red as Tai closed the door behind us, and we stood in the open hallways of the Cherry Blossom Apartment Complex. What I had told my mother was a bald-faced lie, and from the disturbed look on Tai's face, I knew that he knew.

"Okay, Kari," he said, stuffing the car keys in his suit pocket. "I know you're not going to Yolei's house after the dance; you're going to be with T.K. So, what's up? Why are you lying to Mom and Dad?"

I looked down at the ground, not wanting to meet my brother's eyes. He thought I was too young to be wearing something like my dress; how could I tell him I was planning on losing my virginity to T.K. tonight? "Can we just get to the car, Tai?" I said, trying to change the subject. I looked up at him, and by the confused expression on his face, I could tell he was reading my guilty emotions through my eyes. "Please?"

Tai took my refusal to answer the question as a definite warning: I wasn't talking, but more importantly, he knew I was going to do something less than innocent tonight. "So you lied to Mom and Dad, and told them you'll be somewhere tonight, and you won't be home." Tai didn't have to think that much to understand what was going on. "I bet you're planning on doing something with T.K. tonight that you don't want Mom and Dad to know about. Am I right?"

I sighed in defeat, yet I was so relieved that he hadn't figured out what exactly that something was. "Guilty as charged," I said impatiently, tugging on his arm towards the elevators. "Now can we go?"

"Do I want to know about what you're planning on doing with T.K. tonight?" he asked. I couldn't say anything in my defense; I couldn't tell him that he shouldn't know, because then he'd figure out what my plans were for this evening. My brother's brain might be a little burned out from being in the sun too long when he's playing soccer, but when it comes to sex, his mind is like a steel trap - just like any teenage guy. And if I told him my plans for after the dance, he would most likely overreact - as he always does - and not even drive me to Sora's house, where I was supposed to meet T.K. to go to the dance. I was stuck between a big brother and a hard place, and it seemed like I had nowhere to turn.

I sighed, as Tai finally gave in, and we began walking out of the apartment building. "It's just like Mom and Dad said, Tai," I lied. "T.K. and I aren't going to do anything stupid tonight, and we're not going to do anything that we're gonna regret." I took a deep breath as we left Cherry Blossom Way and found Dad's car on the street. "So just let it go, okay?"

"Okay, fine," he said. "Just don't do anything tonight that I wouldn't do."

I hated lying to Tai like that, but I had to. There was no way that he was going to understand why T.K. and I decided to do this tonight, and there was no way he was letting me go to the dance if I had told him the truth. Hopefully, however, it was going to be the truth, and I wasn't going to regret what I hoped to be the most memorable night of my life with T.K., though there was a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach - the same one that told me my dress was too short - that was saying I shouldn't go through with this tonight, that fourteen was too young to lose my virginity, even to the boy that I loved.

Maybe Tai's overprotective "big brothering" really did wear off on me...if only a little bit.

> **6:54 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
1211 Kori Street, Apartment 3-C**

Sora

_Ding-dong._

My mind reeled and I froze in my bedroom as I heard my mother kindly open the front door in the hall.

Oh, God. Tai was here, and he was early.

I froze, standing in the middle of my bedroom, with my beautiful violet dress stuck over my head. Yes, over my head. I might be coordinated enough to play soccer and be on the tennis team, but when it comes to putting on a dress with zippers and hooks and annoying coat hanger loops, I'm all thumbs.

So, there I was, a prisoner of my own dress, and my date just came in the sweep me off my feet and take me to the dance. If nothing else went wrong that night, I would have been relieved; hell, I would think it'd be a miracle. Something inside me just felt that this night wasn't going to go off as I had thought only two days before...

A knock fell upon my bedroom door, and I nearly screamed in surprise and frustration. "Um, Sora?" I heard Tai's voice through the door. "Are you okay? Your mom said you were in there for a while. Is anything wrong?"

"No!" I yelled back, a little too frantically. Even though I looked like a stuffed lavender pastry, I didn't want to ask my mother for help, and there was no way I was opening that door while Tai was still out there. Then, I just remembered that Kari was supposed to come along with Tai to my house to be picked up by T.K. I thought that was strange at first, when Tai had first told me about it this morning, but now I was incredibly thankful for this kind twist of fate.

"Uh...Tai?" I asked the door sheepishly. "Is Kari there with you?"

"I'm here, Sora," the sweet voice of Kari answered back, and I was relieved to know I would not have to stay in this uncomfortable position for long. "What's wrong?"

With my one free hand (since my other was so conveniently stuck above my head in the Chinese Finger Trap known as my dress) I opened my bedroom door a crack and pulled Kari in my room, trying not to be rough but also wanting to close the door before Tai could see me.

"Sora!" Kari cried at my rough hand on her wrist. "You don't have to be so rude. What's the big problem anyw..."

It was then that Kari looked up to see me, standing before her, in my bra and a slip skirt, with my beautiful lavender dress over my head.

And she burst out laughing.

"This isn't funny," I grumbled, as Kari's laughter didn't seem to stop. I wriggled in discomfort, which resulted in the dress only falling more over my head and neck, still keeping me locked in a purple satin cell. I turned to Kari. "Now could you please help get me out?"

"Sure," she said with a chuckle. She walked over to me and, as she fumbled with the mass f lavender over my head, began to make small talk. "So," she began, "you and Tai are finally going to the Youth Day Dance together. I'm glad you two finally came to your senses."

I smiled at Kari's seemingly innocent comment. Everyone thought that me and Tai were a perfect couple; I had thought that, too, for the many years that I've known him. I would have kept thinking that, and would have been perfectly happy with Tai at the dance if it was not for Matt and my surfacing feelings for him. I should have been happy with Tai; I should have never had these feelings for something that I know didn't feel the same way about me. Why did I have to feel this way about Matt Ishida?

"But Sora," Kari continued in a serious tone, interrupting my thoughts on the blond boy. "I want you to know...Tai really likes you."

"Does he?" I asked innocently. I knew that Tai liked me - otherwise he wouldn't have asked me to the dance - but I really didn't know just how much he cared. Maybe what I was doing was wrong; I obviously wasn't totally committed to liking Tai if I kept having these feelings for Matt, even after all he said yesterday. I didn't want to hurt Tai, and if I didn't feel absolutely sure about what - or who - I wanted, maybe I shouldn't even be going to the dance with him.

Kari nodded. "And he's put a lot into tonight. He's put his heart on the line for his, Sora...he's put his heart on the line for you."

My mouth opened to speak, but no words could pass my lips. I didn't know what to say; did Tai really feel that deeply for me? Oh, why was I doing this to him? Why did my life have to be so complicated like this?

"This night means a lot to him," Kari continued, as I listened patiently. "and I don't want my big brother to have his feelings hurt tonight." Kari looked me in the eyes as she pulled the now untangled dress out of its position tousled above my head and down over my body. It fit, just like it had when I had bought it two months ago for this dance in advance, like a glove. "And I don't want his heart to be broken, either."

"What are you getting at, Kari?" I said impatiently. I wasn't enjoying Kari beating around the bush; I wanted her to get to her point already. Why did she think that I was going to break Tai's heart? Just how much did she know about me?

Kari sighed. "Look, just...I know that there's more to this than just you and Tai, and I'm afraid of what might happen tonight if you two go to the dance together. If you don't feel as strong about Tai as he does about you, then please...don't do anything about it tonight. Just have fun. You can tell him how you feel about him - or anyone else - tomorrow at school, but for tonight, please don't say anything. It's Youth Day, Sora...don't hurt him tonight."

It took me a while to get in all of what Kari had just requested. So she really did think I was going to hurt him tonight; the way she talked about Tai's feelings, she must know that he really likes me. Everything she said just confirmed my suspicions that what I was doing tonight was wrong; that I should have never said yes to Tai in the first place, that one Monday morning in Physics class. I was going to try not to hurt him tonight, though - God only knew I didn't want to hurt Tai at all - but I couldn't guarantee Kari that nothing would happen tonight, nor could I guarantee that everything would be just like it used to be before this Youth Day Dance.

"I promise, Kari," I lied, giving a nervous laugh, trying to act sincere. "I'll try not to hurt him tonight; I swear." As Kari moved to my back and began to zip up my dress, I tried to change from this very awkward subject by saying, "So, what are you and T.K. planning on doing tonight? Something special, I'm guessing."

Kari grunted discontentedly - and I swear I could feel her frown from behind me - and flung the zipped up my back, rudely fastening the dress to my body. "Why does everyone ask me that???" She said, exasperated. "We are going to the dance! We aren't planning on anything, you hear me? We are just going to have fun at the dance, and nothing more!"

"Okay, Kari," I said, trying to calm her down. Wow; whatever trigger I pushed when I asked her that, it must have been a pretty big one for her to blow up like that. And hey; it wasn't like I commented on her incredibly skimpy outfit, which, I'm surprised, my mother let her into our house wearing that. "Whatever you say. I'm not going to ask anymore."

"Well, that's a relief," she said in an annoyed tone. Stepping away from me, she crossed her arms in front of her barely covered chest. "Are you ready, Sora? 'Cause, you know, I actually want to get to the dance tonight."

"All right, all right," I said, heading towards the door, not caring that my hair probably looked like I had just been through a wind tunnel, and wondering what was keeping Kari in edge and nervous since I mentioned T.K. "I'm ready to go."

I hurried out the bedroom behind Kari and shut the door, too caught up in the thought of my dress catastrophe and my date with Tai that I forgot about the single red rose corsage I needed to give to June for her blind date, its blood red petals slowly drooping on my dresser surface.


	14. Youth Day (continued)

The Dance  
Wednesday - Youth Day

Wow, you guys review FAST! Hehe...I'm going to have to start writing quicker... ::grin::

> **7:08 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High**

****Joe

"I'm not going in there," I said, my legs frozen in fear in front of the colorful streamer-decorated entrance to the high school's gymnasium. "There's no way I'm going in there."

Izzy, who stood beside me decked out in a black suit and tie, sighed. "You've got to get over this, Joe," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Just because Mimi wouldn't go to the dance with you, it's not the end of the world."

I sighed gloomily, because Izzy didn't understand. He couldn't possibly understand the kind of connection I had with Mimi...or, the connection I thought I had with her. It hurt like hell to know how she really felt about me, especially after I made a fool of myself in front of her and all her friends on Monday. Mimi Tachikawa really did change when she went to New York, I guess, and there was nothing I could do about it.

But that didn't mean that I had to go into that gym and watch her be with someone else the whole night.

"What if she sees me there?" I said absently, more to myself than to Izzy. "What if she comes over to me? What if she starts talking to me, but then that boyfriend of hers comes along and..."

"What if nothing happens," Izzy said loudly, a bit of annoyance in his voice, "and it turns out you're just overreacting about the entire thing?" He threw his hands up in exasperation. "I really don't get why you're so hung up over Mimi. I mean, she's just Mimi. And she dumped you, anyway. I say, just go in to the dance, have fun, and just forget about our former friend for one night."

I shook my head. "You really don't get it, do you," I said to me younger companion. If he didn't understand why I couldn't just let it be with the whole Mimi issue, then he really didn't "get" it at all. Izzy Izumi tried to understand what I was going through, but he couldn't. He was never really in love; he never had the feelings for anyone as strong as I have feelings for Mimi, although I had heard a rumor that the tenth grade boy had a crush on me a while back. He just didn't seem to understand how much it hurt me every time to see Mimi and her boy-toy together, and how much fun I wouldn't be having at the dance.

Izzy sighed, again, and looked down at his Digivice. "Fuck," he mumbled under his breath, thinking that I didn't hear it. "It's past seven, Joe," he said aloud, tucking the device back onto the belt loop on his suit pants. "I'm gonna be late. Are you going to go in, or not?"

I made no effort to move from my spot just below the Odaiba High front steps, and Izzy rolled his eyes beside me. "Look, Joe," he said in a strong tone. Even though I was pretty stuck in my place, and I wasn't planning on entering the school any time soon, Izzy was still going to go through hell and high water to get me - and him - into that dance. "This is your last Youth Day Dance, right?"

"Right," I mumbled. It was going to be my last Youth Day; I had almost forgotten. Since I was just turning nineteen this December, and I was graduating from Odaiba High next month, I wouldn't be able to go to the Youth Day Dance at the high school anymore; technically, after this dance, I would no longer be a "youth". It would be the last Youth Day Dance where all of my close friends - including Mimi - would be together with me.

"And this is your last summer in Japan; am I right?"

I nodded, and Izzy's observation brought my mind to the possibilities of what would happen after this summer. I had been accepted to a prominent medical university in London in March, and I was to leave Japan in August to get myself acquainted with the campus, as well as the fact that everyone there will be speaking English all the time. The college was very competitive, and I was sure to get a lot of work to keep me busy enough to only have a few days off every year to come back to Odaiba. I guess Izzy was trying to tell me that I only had a few more full days of actual fun left in Japan before I had to go.

Izzy threw up his arms again, but this time, I understood why he was so irritated. "Then _what_ is your _problem_, Joe Kido?" He asked. "You should be having fun before you have to go to college, not moping around, all depressed about being dumped by Mimi Tachikawa." Izzy put his arm around my shoulders reassuringly - which was pretty funny, considering that Izzy was a good six inches shorter than me, and he almost had to jump to reach. "If you're not going to go in there and have a good time for yourself, then at least do it for me, because if I know you're at home and not at the dance, then I'm not going to have any fun. And if _I'm_ not going to have any fun at this dance because of you, then you will definitely be getting your ass kicked by yours truly come Thursday morning."

I smiled at Izzy's not-so-empty threat: sure, Izzy was never a big fighter, and he spent more time on the computer than in gym class, but if I caused him not to enjoy the first Youth Day Dance he's going to have with a date, there was no telling how he would exact revenge. "I..._guess_ I could just...avoid her," I sighed, and I watched Izzy's face brighten with a wide grin. "And if I didn't go in there, then I dressed in a suit for nothing." I turned to look at Izzy, and matched his grin with my own. "So, what are we waiting for?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth, man," Izzy chuckled, as we walked confidently into the school gymnasium.

I looked around the brightly decorated and dimly lit gym with a faint smile. Kids from seventh all the way to twelfth grade took no time in jumping onto the dance floor and trying the latest dance craze from America as the Teenage Wolves - fronted by Matt Ishida, who looked much more comfortable than me in casual white T-shirt and jeans - played their version of some N'SYNC song or another. I smiled, as Izzy left me standing in the foyer to wait for his blind date at the refreshment table. This didn't seem so bad. I could definitely have fun just dancing and acting stupid tonight, on this, my last Youth Day. And, giving the room a final sweep with my eyes before joining the teens on the dance floor, I hadn't even seen Mimi at the dance at all...

But then, my heart sank, as I noticed my pink-haired beauty cuddle next to her date in their own little corner of the large room. _I think I'm gonna be sick,_ I thought, as I had to push myself to tear my eyes away from the happy couple.

Maybe this Youth Day wasn't going to be as cheerful as I had hoped.

> **7:26 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May**

__Davis

I sat in my parent's maroon station wagon as we drove towards Yolei's apartment building, nervously twiddling my thumbs and feeling absolutely naked without Tai's goggles atop my head.

And yes, I was wearing a suit. And I bought a corsage; white, too. I was tempted to buy a bright, ugly pink one and force her to wear it, but I decided that handling a happy Yolei was easier than handling a Yolei that wanted to kill me. She doesn't know all I have to go through to make this night happen. No one does.

My sister June sat on the other side of the backseat, the blue taffeta mess she called a dress spilling over onto the rest of the seat. She impatiently tapped her fingers against her knees, a faint smile creeping to her lips now and then. I decided to be a nice brother - for once in my life - and ask what was up.

"Nothing," she said, desperately trying to hide a grin that just wouldn't be hidden.

"Oh, really."

June smiled and absently played with the fringe on her dress. "I'm on a blind date tonight," she said cheerfully.

I had to make a comment. I looked around me - turning my head once to the left, then once to the right, and returning it to its original position - and responded, "Well, June, I don't see him in the car. Is he, perhaps, invisible?"

June's mood changed from giddy to her regular sadistic self and punched me in the arm none too gently. "No, dorkwad," she said. "I'm meeting him at the dance."

"Oh?" I asked, rubbing my arm. Damn, my sister had some left jab. "What's he look like?"

June rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "I don't know, Davis. That's why it's called a 'blind date'." She turned her head towards the window again and resumed her stare out into the quickly fading Odaiba sun. "I don't really know the guy, anyway. One of the girls from the tennis team set me up with him. She says he's really funny, and smart." She chuckled. "I hope that doesn't mean he's ugly."

Before I knew it, we had pulled up to the apartment building where Yolei, Cody and T.K. lived. "Well, go ahead," June said. "Go and pick up your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," I said defensively. Well...she _wasn't_. "I'm just doing this to get some tutoring help in trigonometry." If I had told June any more than that, like the job I had set up with Izzy or the homework he proposed to do for me, I knew she would have either told our parents or Yolei, and I couldn't let either of those things happen.

"Well, let's see here," she said, pointing to my clothes. "You bought a corsage, you're wearing a suit, you left your goggles at home..." June leaned over towards me and sniffed. "...and you're wearing Dad's cologne. Oh yeah," she said sarcastically. "This _isn't_ a date and she _definitely_ isn't your girlfriend."

I rolled my eyes at her, and they landed on my Digivice, which said that it was already **7:29**. If I didn't get up to that apartment pronto, I was going to get the beating of my life come Thursday...and by a girl, no less.

"I gotta go," I said as I opened the car door. Before shutting it again, I yelled at my sister, "And she isn't my girlfriend!"


	15. Youth Day

The Dance  
Wednesday - Youth Day

> **7:29 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Shinohara Cemetery**

Ken

_So, this is it... _ I looked up at the menacing iron gates of the Shinohara Cemetery, lit only by a fluorescent light inside the night watchman's tower and by the light of the waning crescent moon. The cemetery always looked so cold, so uninviting...whenever I passed it during the day, it never seemed to be any brighter or any less dismal than it was now. The few trees inside the gates never had any foliage, even in the middle of May. The place seemed to breed death...as if it was doing more than its share of keeping death inside its iron walls. But no matter how many times a year I would pass this small cemetery to get to school, it never seemed so threatening and so deadly as it did tonight.

I shook my head. This was definitely not the best place for my brother's final resting place.

The large iron gate, encrusted with peeling black paint and decomposing rust, was closed when I arrived at the cemetery, which was around seven-thirty. It took me longer to get here than usual; every year since Sam's death, every year that I had come to this cemetery with a pot of bought lilies and a heavy heart, it took me only a few minutes to get from my apartment to the cemetery; a half hour, at the most. But tonight was different; maybe I had spent more time in the Takenouchi's Flower Shop than expected, or I just felt like walking a little slower this year, but the small walk that only took a few minutes took me an hour and a half to accomplish.

I had to get the night watchman, who, thankfully was at his post at the time, to open the gate to the cemetery; if he hadn't, I didn't know what I would do. I had never snuck into the cemetery before, but if that guard wouldn't let me in to see my brother, on this night of all nights, then I would have no other choice but to dart around the back and let myself in.

The walk was long, but I was used to it by now. The rolling green hills of the cemetery must have been at least a little cheerful in the day; without the headstones that appeared every three feet, this could have been a park, or a playground for children.

_But it's not any playground,_ I thought, feeling tears form in my eyes before I had even gotten past the first mausoleum. _ It's a meadow of death. It's not a park for children; no, it's instead where dead children lie, never to rise and play again._

I swiped at a tear falling down my cheek with my sweater sleeve. I swore to myself I wouldn't cry tonight.

I had remembered when I had first heard about Sam's death; it took me a few days to actually believe it. I was only nine then; Sam was a mere thirteen. I didn't want to believe that my older brother, my protector and my friend, wouldn't be there for me anymore; that he just wouldn't be _anywhere _anymore. I cried for weeks after that; I wouldn't leave my room, and my parents feared I would never get over my brother's death. They were so thankful when I did get out of my room and returned to school, and when I started doing exceptionally well with my studies.

They thought I had gotten over Sam's death. But you never get over something like that. Never.

My eyes were so clouded with unshed tears and memories of my dear brother that I barely noticed the tombstone in front of me, and I was shocked to find me nearly falling over the grave. Even though I tried to keep my balance and stay on my feet - for bumping into a gravestone was one thing, but it surely couldn't have been good luck if I tripped over it and, God forbid, caused it to crack or fall - I fell to the ground on my knees, the wind effectively knocked out of me.

"Shit," I whispered, ashamed at myself for letting my emotions come over me ant for not looking where I was going. I looked up at the tombstone, to see whose unfortunate grave I stumbled upon. I gasped when I read the engraved letters on the slab of marble before me:

** Ichiouji Osamu  
"Sam"**

Forever our beautiful son

Born April Twenty, Nineteen Eighty-Three  
Died May Sixteen, Nineteen Ninety-Six

I sighed - a contented sigh - as I reached out and traced his name, as well as the date he died, with my fingertips.

"Hey, Sam," I said with a hoarse throat. "I'm back."

> **7:30 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
718 Odaiba Terrace Apartment 4-B**

__Davis

I rung the doorbell to Yolei's apartment, and a very odd-looking, very bald teenage boy answered the door, munching on a club sandwich.

"Um...is...uh...is this...well...I'm...is Yolei here?" I stuttered, not sure if I had the right address. Did I just ring the doorbell to the Twilight Zone, and this was the gatekeeper?

He gave me an "are-you-an-idiot?" look, and yelled into the apartment, "Yolei, your boyfriend's here."

"He's not my boyfriend, dweeb!" I heard from inside the house, the shrill, annoying voice that could be no one else but Yolei. "Did you let him in yet?"

The boy who I only knew as "dweeb" opened the door all the way to let me in, and I walked into the hall of the apartment, holding the white corsage with shaking hands. "He's in now."

"Well, at least you're not late," Yolei addressed to me. "And don't mind my brother, he's just a dork." Yolei emerged from her bedroom, and my breath hitched in my throat.

She took off her glasses and opted for contacts, which was a start. They opened up her eyes more and stopped her face from being hidden away by those nerdy glasses. A beautiful face, really; her delicate features were now clearly seen without her glasses, and her eyes glimmered with a happiness and joy that I had never seen before. She had put her hair up into a glamorous bun, with tendrils of violet hair curling down, framing her face. It was a lot better than hiding her long hair under her helmet, which she did in the Digiworld on any possible occasion. Her white, spaghetti-strap dress flowed from her shoulders down to just above her knee, and it made her look like an angel.

She was beautiful. Yolei Inoue actually looked beautiful.

I was speechless as she walked over to me, took the corsage from my hands, and examined it in the clear plastic box, checking to see if I had bought the right one. She handed it back to me and said, "You wore a suit. It looks good on you."

I only then remembered I had to breathe, and I let out a breath, which sounded oddly to my ears like a nervous sigh. "Thanks," I said.

"Your parents are driving us?" she asked as she grabbed her matching white purse and wrap. I nodded, and she smiled. "Okay then, let's go. I don't want to get there late."

"Wait!" I said nervously, a little too loudly for my liking, and stepped between Yolei and the doorway. I gave a toothy grin and presented the corsage. "Shouldn't I put this on you first?"

Yolei smiled - and did I even see her blush? - and allowed me to pin the white carnation on her dress. I pinned it on her slowly, allowing my fingers linger a little longer against the cool skin of her shoulder. I blushed at the thought. This was Yolei. Yolei Inoue. Not some hot model, or a movie star, or even Kari. This was Yolei. Why was I getting so nervous and worked up over Yolei?

Our eyes met as I drew my hands back, and we stared at each other for a moment, neither of us knowing what to say to the other. We just looked at each other, with these blank expressions of misunderstanding on our faces, not knowing what to do next. If Yolei's brother didn't speak up so rudely, we probably would have stayed like that the entire night.

"Aw, isn't that cute," Yolei's older brother said sarcastically. "Let me go get my camera."

Yolei blushed a brighter shade of red and turned defensive on her brother. "Shut up, loser!" She yelled back at him. "Besides, we were leaving anyway."

Grabbing my wrist and nearly pushing me out the door, Yolei said, "Come on, Davis, let's go."


	16. Chapter 15

The Dance  
Wednesday - Youth Day

I know this one is really short, and I'm sorry, but I just couldn't think of anything else! I promise to get the next one in soon, and I swear, you will love it!

(That doesn't mean that it'll definitely be the Tai/Sora/Matt romance, however... ¬ . ¬)

The names "Skids" and "Cy" are tributes (not stolen, mind you) to the online comic (a href="http://boymeetsboy.keenspace.com" target="NEW">Boy Meets Boy, my latest online obsession. Please check it out, and find out why I absolutely LOVE Skids & Cy.

> **7:46 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High - Gymnasium**

Matt

I set my guitar down in its stand on the stage as our drummer Cy cranked out one last drum solo for the set. He was on tonight; the entire band was on. They were playing better than any rehearsal we've ever played...I just wish I could have said the same about my performance. "We'll be taking a short break, people," I said energetically into the microphone, hoping that the rest of the band made up for my guitar riff mistakes and sour notes. The dressed-up young girls of Odaiba High, who reeked of baby doll perfume and trying too hard, squealed below my position on the makeshift stage. "But we'll be right back, so don't you go away!"

I smiled at the eruption of swoons and contented screams as I turned my back and escape with the rest of the bane backstage. It was nice to have people like your music - especially when it's your own music, and now some cheese N'SYNC remake - but it was definitely a bigger ego rush to know that all those girls out there were screaming for me. And, after Davis's sister June stopped hanging around me like a lost puppy, the fans got a lot less scarier, too.

My face fell. But I would trade a million of those giggling fans just to have the one girl I really cared about.

Why did I have to be such a jerk to her yesterday?

Skids, the bassist in the band with dirty blond hair and a strange obsession with Britney Spears, walked up to me with concern, wearing a black T-shirt with our "Teenage Wolves" logo in bold, red letters. "Dude," he said, in a bad surfer accent he had acquired after listening to one too many Beach Boys songs. "You totally tanked on that guitar solo in 'You Don't Know Jack.' You usually hit that like it was nothing. What's going on?"

I sighed, keeping my fingers busy by balancing a guitar pick on my fingernails. "I don't know, man," I replied, my mind most definitely on something - or someone - else. "I guess I'm just not in a music kind of mood right now."

Skids cocked an eyebrow at me, surprised. "You?" he asked, skeptical. "Not in a music mood? Are you sick, or something?" Skids stopped his questioning then, and his surprised look was replaced with a sly smile. "If Matt Ishida isn't in a music 'vibe,' then the world must be ending." He snorted at his own joke. I was just glad that Skids and the other guys in the band didn't know about me being a DigiDestined, or the end of the world would have had a whole different meaning. "Or...you're thinking about a girl instead of your music, which is a whole let more realistic than the world ending."

I smiled at Skids, who never really knew how many times the world was actually in danger of ending, and how many times I was one of those who stopped just that from happening. "You're tripping, man," I said nervously. "I'm just off my game tonight. I'll do better after this break, I swear."

Skids crossed his arms in front of his chest. He wasn't buying it. "Who's the girl, Matty?" he said jokingly. I rolled my eyes. "I'm not gonna budge till you tell me who's the girl."

"Your sister," I said sarcastically, wanting desperately for Skids to get off the topic. I began to walk away, but Skids stood fast, his arms still crossed over his chest. I turned back around and sighed. "Truthfully, Skids, there's no girl," I lied. Well, only half-lied. Sora was most definitely in my thoughts, but there was no way that I was in hers.

Skids threw his arms up in frustration as the music from our pre-recorded CD blared through the gym. I had written the slow, mournful song that was playing when I was thinking about Sora, once. I had lied to her when she asked me who I had written it for, and said Gabumon. I couldn't tell her the truth. I can never tell her the truth. "I don't believe you," he said. "Now are you gonna tell me what your problem is tonight, or am I going to have to kick your ass to find out, and then I'd have messed up that pretty face of yours."

I sighed and gave up. If he was threatening my life, it'd be one thing, but my face was much more important than my secret. "It is about a girl, Skids," I said, and Skids grinned, knowing that he hit my problem right on the nose. "I really like this girl, and we've been friends for a long time. But I don't think that she likes me more than a friend. I can't keep hanging out with her because every time I see her, it just makes me feel so depressed to know that I'll never be with her. And I can't tell her how I feel about her, because then our friendship will be ruined."

I took in a deep breath, thinking about how trivial this whole thing sounded when I actually spoke it aloud. The only problem with Sora and me was me, and if I just stopped acting like this was bothering me, and continued to be her friend (that was, if she still wanted to be my friend after all the shit I'd said to her yesterday), then nothing would be wrong. I should have never had these feelings for her...it just fucked everything up between us.

But there was no going back to the way things were now.

Skids looked at me, a confused expression on his face. "That's it?" he asked. I shrugged; I didn't know what else to do. This seemed pretty serious to me. "Dude, I thought you had some _real_ problems, like you got some girl pregnant, or something." I laughed off yet another of Skids's misinformed comments; right at this moment, I knew that Kari and T.K. were at the dance, but I wouldn't know where they would be in an hour, two hours, or on into the wee hours of the morning. And even though T.K. seemed pretty confident at the time - though I would have called it "cocky" instead of "confident" - I wasn't so sure that my little brother knew how to use a condom properly. Those kids were going to get into trouble tonight, I just knew it...

"If the girl's your friend like you say she is," Skids continued, "then she really won't be bothered by you liking her. The worst case scenario is -"

"- She'll think I'm a creep and hate me forever," I interrupted. There was no way Skids was going to convince me that Sora would be okay with this. "You're full of shit, Skids."

Skids gave me a look. He doesn't like to be interrupted. "...is that she won't have the same feelings for you, but hopefully, if your friendship is strong enough, it won't damage it. And the best case scenario is that she actually does feel the same way about you, and then, you really have nothing to worry about."

I shook my head. "I really doubt that, man."

He shrugged. "Just my opinion, man. Take it or leave it." I could hear the CD come to a spinning end on the speakers, and I knew that our short break was over. It was time to get back on that stage, in front of all those girls who giggled and screamed my name, but would never be _her._

"Hey, man," I changed the subject, trying to get more into my "music vibe," as Skids had called it, and attempt to get through this set without messing up. "Sounds like we're up."

"You got it." We began to walk out onto the stage, but just as I reached the navy fabric curtain that separated the stage from backstage, Skids pulled me back by my shoulder. "But just remember what I've said, Matt," he said in a serious tone, the Californian accent drained from his voice. "And tell Sora how you feel. You won't regret it."

It took me a second before I realized that I never really did tell Skids Sora's name.

I cringed at the thought, as the entire gym erupted with the sounds of teens cheering for our music. Was I really that obvious?

Putting on a bright face for the crowd, I looked out onto the gym, seeing a mass of faces, some a barely recognized, and some I didn't even know. But all I could really focus on was the one beautiful young woman that stood across the room, laughing and talking with her date.

I knew I wasn't going to get through this night without seeing Sora - and consequently having my heart stomped on more than it already was - but I just hoped that I wouldn't hurt Sora or Tai tonight by doing anything stupid.


	17. Chapter 16 - Youth Day

The Dance  
Wednesday - Youth Day

Hey everyone! ^_^ I told you I'd make up for that really small chapter with a real large one, and a great one! Okay...so it's not a spectacular chapter, unless you like the Izzy and June plotline. There's also the Tai/Sora/Matt triangle mixed into this chapter...because I just know how everyone loves that plot. ^_^

Takari coming soon!...perhaps I'll prove to you all that T.K. isn't a total horndog. Or perhaps he'll just drop dead after seeing Kari's slutty outfit :snicker:

> **7:46 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High - Gymnasium**

Tai

I was startled to hear the eruptions of screams coming from the young teenage girls decked out in their Youth Day best inside of the high school's gymnasium, and turned to see Matt and the Teenage Wolves retake their places on the makeshift stage near the basketball bleachers. The rest of the band seemed energetic and pleased to be playing for such a large crowd - heck, I was sure the Teenage Wolves were happy to play for any kind of crowd - but Matt only looked depressed and out of it, like his mind really wasn't on the music. For one brief, single moment, I felt concern for my close friend, and wondered what was on his mind. I knew that Matt wasn't one to not be excited when he's playing his music, so I believed something was definitely wrong with him. 

It was then I saw him turn to look in my direction - particularly at my beautiful date, who was at the moment talking very quickly and incoherently and rummaging through her lavender purse. 

My startled face turned into a frown. It figured that Matt was thinking about Sora. I snaked my arm around her waist protectively, making sure Matt saw us together, and I felt a tiny feeling of victory when he looked away from us and returned his attentions to the group of girls standing below him on the dance floor. 

That's who he should be with, anyway. Do you know how many girls he has pining for him all over Odaiba? I knew at least ten girls in my history class who wanted to get into the pants of the Teenage Wolves' lead singer, and I had heard somewhere that even Michelle Sonado, the most popular senior girl in school, had a secret crush on our little blond friend. Why couldn't he just get over Sora and go out with one of the many willing girls all over town? Then he would be happy, Sora would be happy, and I sure as hell would be dancing in the streets. I know my motives sound a little selfish, but hell, we're not talking the fate of the world here - this is much more important. 

"Come on, Sora," I said over the beginning riffs of a new song, wanting to get as far away from Matt's gaze as possible. "Let's go get some punch, or something." I used the arm I had around her waist to try to guide Sora over to the refreshments table, when Sora stopped short, her heels nearly making tire tracks on the dance floor, and let out a distressed yelp. 

"No!" Sora said hysterically, though trying to keep her voice low enough so the teens around us wouldn't notice. "We can't go to the refreshments tables! Izzy will kill me if I go to the refreshments tables!" 

My eyes bulged out of their sockets by Sora's strange reaction. "Um, sweetie," I said cautiously, "you're not making any sense." 

Sora sighed - and seemed unfazed by the fact I had just called her "sweetie" - and placed a hand to her forehead in exhaustion. "No, I'm making perfect sense," she said with a whine. "It's just that you don't know the whole story. And I forgot the red rose." 

My face gave a confused expression. "Mind filling me in?" I asked. With my arm still wrapped around Sora's waist - which I wasn't planning on detaching any time soon - I walked her over to the side of the gymnasium to sit on one of the metal fold-out chairs lining the walls of the large room. Out of the corner of my eye I saw our former friend Mimi Tachikawa getting hot and heavy - and not to mention nauseating - with senior Roger Ohtori in the corner. I decided to ignore the two, despite their very noisy activity, and concentrate solely on my date...and perhaps on avoiding Matt Ishida for the rest of the night. 

Sora started her long and interesting story. "Okay, so you know that Izzy wanted me to hook him up with someone for the dance, right?" 

I nodded. "Hasn't he been bragging about that all day yesterday?" I knew that, for a computer geek like Izzy, it was a big occasion when he actually got a date, and for the Youth Day Dance, no less. Izzy was also one to know that fact as well, and he did the most he could yesterday and this morning to voice that startling fact to everyone and anyone who would listen. 

Sora continued. "And, well...June Motomiya also needed a date for the dance, so I..." 

I stood up and gawked at my date in shock. "You hooked up Izzy with _her???_" I asked, amazed. I was even more amazed when Sora began to defend the psycho girl known as June. 

"She isn't that bad, Tai!" Sora protested. "I know she was a little strange and eccentric when we were younger..." 

"She was a freakin' _stalker_, Sora," I interrupted. "She nearly camped outside of Matt's door every night. Is that would you call 'strange'?" 

Sora sighed and rolled her eyes. "She's changed from then, Tai. Give her another chance. She's on the tennis team with me; she's really nice and fun to hang around, once you get to know her." 

I chuckled. "I bet Izzy isn't gonna want to know her," I said, feeling sorry for the younger boy already. 

Sora's face changed to a solemn expression, and she slumped into her folding chair. "That's just the problem," she said morosely. "I don't think they're ever going to know each other. They probably won't even meet tonight." 

I sat back down in the chair next to Sora and, never being one to pass up a chance to be closer to her, draped a supporting arm around her cream shoulders. "Why would you think that?" I asked. 

"I was supposed to give June a red rose corsage," she said, "so that Izzy would recognize her when they met at the refreshments tables. But I forgot it at home." Sora looked up into my eyes, meeting them with her own nervously. "I even think I got the meeting times mixed up!" Throwing her hands up in the air, she let her elbows fall into her lap, her hands supporting her drooping and depressed head. "I am so bad at this whole, 'setting people up' thing. I don't even know why I tried to do it..." 

"Hey...hey, don't be so depressed about it," I said, picking Sora's head up by her chin, allowing her to look me in the eye. She was so vulnerable and beautiful, both at that same moment, and I wanted to kiss her so badly...but the time wasn't right, I knew that; and I also knew that if I kissed her once, I would want to kiss her again, and again, and then soon we would be just as bad as Mimi and her boy toy in the corner. I suppressed the deep urge, and continued. "I'm sure that this whole thing will work itself out. I mean, if there's a single girl at this dance, I'm sure Izzy will be the one to sniff her out!" I said lightly. 

Sora smiled warmly, her depression over her botched fix-up plan quickly fading. "You really think so, Tai?" she asked me hopefully. 

"Of course!'' I answered back cheerfully. "I think that, if Izzy and June are meant to meet each other - if they're meant to be together tonight - then they'll meet. If this is meant to happen, then it will; simple as that." 

Her smile brightened, and I felt something warm and tingly grow inside of me. I wasn't sure if it was the feeling of close friendship, of raging teenage hormones, or - and it sounds so strange for me to say this - even love, but I knew that I wanted to feel that way forever...with Sora. "I sure hope so," she said. Turning her body towards the stage, Sora's face scrunched up in criticism and concern. "Matt really doesn't sound like he's playing his best tonight, does it," she changed the subject. "I wonder why." 

I sighed, dejected. And the dance still went on. 

> **7:51 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High - Gymnasium**

****_Izzy_

**7:51.**

Damn.

I checked my Digivice - very carefully, so that no one would ask me what it was - for about the sixth time, still seeing those digital numbers by the shining lights of the dance. Joe had left me to lurk in the shadows of the dance a while ago, and so there I stood, alone, in front of the refreshments tables as couple after couple took glasses of punch and glanced at me with pity.

I had been standing there for over forty five minutes.

I've drank six glasses of punch.

I think I've been stood up.

My date - the hot young tennis player that hopefully was to be the girl of my dreams - was supposed to be here with a red rose corsage and in my life at seven o'clock. It was now - and I check my Digivice again - **7:52**, and there was no sign of a lone beauty with a red rose. It didn't look like she was ever coming.

Tucking my Digivice back on my belt, I sighed, and gave one last, hopeful look at the gymnasium entrance. It was just my luck that I would be at the Youth Day Dance alone - again - even though I had really tried to find someone this year. Was I cursed, or something? I don't think I'll ever find someone. And I don't mean just for the Youth Day Dance; I had been romantically alone since I had entered Odaiba High, and from the looks of tonight, I might be alone for much longer.

All around me, I'm seeing people falling in love. I know T.K. and Kari are in love, as I watch them giggle as they dance joyfully to a mixed version of a Sarah McLachlan song. Actually, I had even heard from the chess club that T.K. and Kari were planning on doing something a little less than innocent pretty soon. (The chess club might not be the most popular group in the school, but we sure are one of the most talkative.) Tai's falling in love with Sora, quite obviously - though Sora might not feel the same about him - and Matt is falling equally for her, if not more - though, once again, Sora might not feel the same about him, either. Even Joe was completely gone over Mimi, and it was sweet, even if Mimi didn't ever give two looks in Joe's direction.

All this love is sprouting up around me, and I'm just standing here...alone.

Maybe I should get a houseplant.

Sighing, defeated, I reached over to pour myself a seventh glass of pity punch. All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye I saw a girl in a blue dress walk over to the far end of the refreshments table, looking around with some disappointment. No red rose, though.

Hey, who's the redhead?

> **7:55 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High - Gymnasium**

June

I looked up at the large analog clock above one of the basketball hoops of the gym as I rushed in past my brother and his girlfriend, making a beeline for the refreshments tables.

**7:55.**

Fuck. I was so late!

"Damn, damn, damn..." I cursed, fighting the urge to kick the table in aggravation. I couldn't believe it took nearly a half hour to get from Odaiba Terrace to the high school. We probably could have walked the distance, and gotten here earlier than we did. Who even knew that Youth Day traffic would be that congested and tight? And now, because I couldn't get to the dance any earlier, I might have lost out on the possible date of a lifetime.

It didn't matter if I had been here on time, anyway; if I was here on time, I wouldn't have known who my blind date was, and he would not have known me. The only way we were supposed to meet was my red rose corsage; the one that Sora was supposed to get to me at the dance. Unfortunately, as my eyes quickly scanned the dance floor, I couldn't see hide nor hair of the brunette, and so I was at the dance without a rose, and consequently, without a date.

I thought that this year might be different. I thought that maybe, I could possibly have a nice Youth Day where I had a decent date. The last time I went with someone to the Youth Day Dance was a year ago with Roger Ohtori, and, with the night ending not so happily in a hotel room, I can tell you it wasn't a pleasant experience. I just wanted a nice night, with a nice guy. From what Sora said about this guy, he does sound bit geeky - I would have preferred an athletic senior instead of an intelligent sophomore - but he was probably nice, and I could possible get along with him much better then Roger Ohtori. Hell, I bet a block of wood would hold a better conversation than Roger.

Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. maybe I was meant to only be with stupid guys like Roger who constantly have sex on the brain. Maybe this is my punishment for following Matt Ishida around for all those years...

I looked over to my right, and saw an unfamiliar boy walking towards me.

Hey, who's the redhead?

"Well," he said, with a warm smile, his hands self-consciously in his suit pockets, "you rushed in here like the end of the world's outside. Is there something wrong?"

I looked the young man up and down, sizing him up - or checking him out, if that's what you want to call it - and he wasn't all that bad. He seemed a little young - only a year or two younger than me, though - and he was about a forehead shorter them me. That never bothered me that much; short was never an issue for me, and I could definitely get over the age factor. The guy was plain-looking, really - he had dark red hair that reminded me of my own unruly locks, and his face was nothing extraordinary - but there was something in his eyes, his dark and mysterious eyes, that told me to forget my usual practice of overlooking the less-than-perfect guys and start paying attention to guys like...well, guys like this one.

I sighed, and smiled at the red-haired stranger. "I'm supposed to meet my date here," I said, a little sadly. "But it doesn't look like that's happening tonight."

The guy laughed, and walked up to me at the end of the table. "Same thing happened to me," he said. "What a coincidence, huh?"

"I'll say." I held out my hand to him. "The name's June."

The boy took my hand and shook it warmly. "You can call me Izzy," he replied with a smile.

Izzy, huh? I smirked. He seemed nice enough. Maybe I'll give this one a try.


	18. Chapter 17

**The Dance**

:::wakaba-chan grumbles and stalks to the front of stage::: Ahem. The only reason I've been gone for so long is that FanFiction.net is a total jerk of a network, and I had also gotten a new computer, so I had to wait to post until everything was transferred from one computer to another. So, here's the Takari chapter - though Takari fans will probably not be pleased. :-P I am so cruel to Takari fans. And, if you don't get why Kari's so jittery, don't worry; you'll find out about it in the sequel.

Yep; there will be a sequel.

There is also a long-awaited Cody part in this chapter, so eat up. I've decided to stop fooling with his story and just get to the point. There aren't any more secrets in Cody's story, and the next time I write a Ken chapter, you'll know even more. (Ooh, wait, did I give something away there? ^_^)

> **8:03 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High - Gymnasium**

****T.K.

The Trojan condom packet burned in my pocket as Kari held me close dancing to one of the Teenage Wolves' uncharacteristically slow songs. As we swayed slowly to the music, I felt rather uneasy about the plans Kari and I made for tonight after the dance, which was only intensified by how close I was to Kari's body and the barely-there dress she was wearing. If it was any other night, I would have gone nuts over Kari's slinky black outfit - hell, even tonight I had to stop myself from taking her right there on the dance floor - but this particular night, the night we were planning on losing our virginities to each other, it all just made me feel differently. Kari looked so grown up tonight...a little too grown up. It was like she was trying to prove to herself that she was mature enough to go through with this.

Maybe we both were.

I guess you could say I was a little scared about tonight, in more ways than one. Okay, more like terrified. Sure, I'm in love with Kari, and I'd be a shame to all fourteen year old boys if I said I wasn't interested in having sex. But Kari's sexy ensemble reminded me of just how young we actually were. I had read the statistics, and I know that a lot of teenagers were having sex a lot younger these days, but I wasn't so sure if Kari and I were ready to become one of those statistics. I wasn't so sure if I was ready for it.

But still, there was a part of me that wanted to go through with all we planned for tonight. I mean, I was going to lose my virginity eventually, and there was no one in this world I would rather do it with than Kari. I couldn't see why I would possibly want to wait to prove to Kari in the ultimate way how much I love her.

Kari's arms around my neck felt cold; the gym's air conditioning must have been on full blast. I wanted to wrap my arms around her on that dance floor, make her thin body warm again. I wanted to be there for her, always, in every way I could. And even still, her icy touch felt like a noose around my neck, one that was becoming as tight as Kari's dress on as the hours at the dance went by. My mind felt so conflicted, as the floral smell of Kari's perfume both embraced me and suffocated me at the same time. I wanted to love her, in the most complete way I know how, but I also felt this strangling feeling wouldn't go away if I did have sex with her. I was doubting that everything would be all right if I had sex with Kari. I even felt that, maybe, new problems would arise if we went to bed tonight.

The slow song ended, and Kari and I broke apart, saying nothing. I looked into her eyes, and all I could see was uncertainty.

Were we really ready for this?

Our awkward silence that seemed to never be between us before ended when a fast-paced song erupted from the speakers, and once calm couples danced wildly to the music - and into us. I grunted in discomfort as I received an elbow to the ribs, and held Kari close instinctively and ushered her off the dance floor.

I think the strange shift from peaceful to frenetic shocked us both a bit, and neither of us looked energetic enough at the moment to return to the dance floor. Actually, it was more about my reflections on out relationship - and its next step - that kept me out of the dance and on the sidelines...but I didn't want Kari to know that.

I scratched my head nervously. "Um...you wanna go get some punch?" I asked, pointing in the direction of the refreshments tables, my gaze transfixed on the lowered head of my love, who, right now, wasn't even looking me in the eyes.

Kari shook her head, her eyes on the ground. "Not thirsty," she said simply.

"Maybe something to eat, then?" I suggested. Anything to take my mind off the ticking clock, and my ultimate decision on actually going through with sleeping with Kari tonight. "I heard the dance committee made sandwiches."

Once again, Kari shook her head, not meeting her eyes with mine. "Too many calories," she replied.

Her answer left me concerned. She was never worries about her eight or eating habits before. What was going on with her? "Kari, you didn't eat lunch this afternoon in school, either," I said in a serious tone. "Is something wrong?" I put my hand on her shoulder lovingly, urging her to open up to me.

She looked up, out eyes locking in on each other, and she smiled weakly, a smile I knew to be the one she uses when she's trying to hide something. "It's nothing, T.K.," she responded, patting my hand assuredly. "I've just been a little...nervous lately." I blinked, and I knew she had been thinking about tonight as well. "You understand, right?"

I nodded. How selfish was I being? I was believing that only I was having second thoughts about us sleeping together. Why didn't I ever think about how Kari felt about the whole thing? Losing your virginity is different for girls, I guessed; it wasn't the "wham, bam, thank-you ma'am" guys always talk about. She must have been searching her soul for the right answer non-stop these three days, and I hardly even noticed. 

My other arm wrapped itself around Kari's slender waist, and I bent down to brush a soft kiss against her lips. "I understand perfectly," I said softly. I raised my head to kiss her forehead, her perfume scent in the air surrounding us not so foreboding anymore to me. God, I loved her. There was only one way I could think to be closer to her than I was now...damn, this decision was so tough to make! 

Kari looked up at me and grinned, her smile finding new energy at the beginning of a new song filling the air. "Come on, let's dance!" she yelled over the fast-pounding drum beats. "This is my favorite song!" 

She pulled me by the arm to dance once again. I inwardly groaned, already imagining Kari's grinding and writhing body next to mine on the crowded dance floor. Coupled with her outfit, I was about to have a hard time - no pun intended - keeping my emotions in check. 

It was going to be a long night. 

> **8:15 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Shinohara Cemetery**

****Cody

_Am I here? _I asked myself as I walked up to the dark, foreboding iron gates. This didn't look like the place I had remembered from the visits I have had before...but then again, I had always visited during the day, in school hours, when my mother would let me take off from school to come here. All my friends thought that I was just playing hooky for Youth Day, but my teachers, my mother, and, most importantly, I knew that it was something far more serious than that. Now, it was eight o'clock in the evening, and the brisk night air was uninviting and it chilled my small body to the bone. I also had never been here alone before. I had always come here with my mother as the years passed, and her presence always made my pain seem less the emptiness within me seem at least shared with someone else.

My mother was at work tonight. She wasn't going to show up at all.

Now, I was truly alone.

I touched the dark gates with my fingers, the tips running up and down each pole. It was so cold, even now, in the middle of May. It didn't seem normal...it just didn't feel like May should.

But May was never as warm for me as it should have been.

My eyes watered with unwanted tears as I thought of tomorrow. Tomorrow was going to be my birthday. I was having a party - my mother arranged it to lift my spirits, like she always does. I think she also does it to make up for all the birthdays I wasn't going to have with my father. Kari and T.K. were most likely going to make a fuss about me turning thirteen during school, too. I wasn't going to be happy about it - I might even avoid them the entire day, if I could. I didn't want to be reminded constantly that tomorrow was May the seventeenth.

I bit my lip and fought back my tears, as the surly guard waddled out from his small cubicle of a guard station and opened the gates to allow me into the dreary compound. He grumbled about having to open the gates for night visitors twice in one night. That's strange, I thought to myself, as I walked through the cold iron gates. I didn't think anyone else besides me would be here this late.

"Hey, kid," the grumpy old guard, who stood beside me after he closed the gate once more, pulled his arms up over his head and yawned audibly, his tone of voice clearly annoyed with my presence. "Why don't you just come back tomorrow? It'd make my job a whole lot easier."

Tomorrow... The tears welling in my eyes were threatening to break through and erupt, and so I shut my eyes as tightly as I could and turned my head away from the guard, pushing the tears back as far as they would go. "Because," I said with a strained voice. "Tomorrow will be too late."

The guard dismissed me with a sigh and a muttered "whatever" under his breath. He returned to his guard post and left me where I stood to find my own way around the lot. I wasn't usually that curt to my elders, but then again, they usually weren't that surly to me. That guard just didn't understand why I had to be there, tonight, and why I couldn't just come back tomorrow. And that made me angry.

He also made me think about tomorrow, once again, and right after I had tried to shake it out of my mind. I didn't ever know the man, but I hated him for making me remember the seventeenth of May. I hated to remember the 17th of May. I didn't want to remember that date, ever, because...because...

"I'm here, Daddy," I whispered to the newly-cut lawn of the Shinohara Cemetery.

...because it was the day my father was killed.


	19. Youth Day - Part Ten

> The Dance

Okay, before this next part of the story starts, I just want to get some things off my chest. I didn't think that I could start writing again for a long time after September 11, 2001. I live in the New York City area, and I know a lot of poeple who have family that won't come home anymore. It just felt...almost sacreligious to write a happy romance story when so many people are dying only ten miles away from me. I have been writing, though; actually, this terrible event, coupled with the recent death of my beloved housecat of 11 years, has helped me write ahead and almost finish the Ken/Cody plot of this fic.

Another thing: the one thing I can't stand that I'm now seeing on these boards is Digimon-related fics on the WTC attacks. These fics are being written no more than a day after the tragic attack, and I just believe that this is one of the worst acts of selfishness and insensitivity I have ever seen. I do believe that, in time, it is a creative experience to write about this, but I think it's way too early to be writing about it now. I won't name names...because that really gets me in trouble...but I will say I'm really not happy about it.

Oh, and one more thing...TakatoxLee forever. ^_^

**8:24 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High - Gymnasium**

Mimi

"Roger!" I giggled coyly to my hot date, Roger Ohtori. "You are such a tease!"

This I was saying as I necked with him while sitting precariously on his lap.

Roger Ohtori, the beefcake senior of Odaiba High, pulled me close towards him on his lap and seductively licked my earlobe, sending waves of physical excitement through my body. "I'm no more of a tease than you are, babe," he growled in my ear, wrapping his arms around my waist and cupping my firm as in his hands, much to my surprise. "I mean, look at what you're wearing," he continued, motioning towards my tight neon yellow dress that covered the bare essentials and not much else. I shrugged. I didn't think it was that bad. "How do you expect me to keep my hands off you with that hot number?"

"That's exactly the point," I purred, wrapping my arms loosely around his neck. "I don't."

Roger and I had escaped long ago to a dark corner of the gymnasium of Odaiba High, finding a free fold-out chair and proceeding to make out like our lives would end by midnight. Even though this was one of the biggest dances of the year, we weren't paying attention to Matt's loud, punk rock band or Michelle and her cronies, who were all reeking of cheap perfume and fawning over my blond former friend. The entire dance was invisible to us, and we were invisible to them.

We were invisible, of course, except to the eyes of those who still call themselves DigiDestined.

Even though my eyes and my lips were being fully occupied with Roger, I could feel Tai and Sora's disapproving eyes on us from only a few seats away, and Yolei had stolen a glance in my direction when she passed as she entered the gym with Davis. And I didn't even want to think about sad-eyed Joe, moping around the dance like he just lost his best friend.

No; wait. I do want to think about him.

I couldn't believe how cold I was being to him. Sure, I was acting like none of my former friends of Odaiba High existed, but I knew how Joe felt about me, and I was being an absolute jerk because of it. I was ignoring him in the halls, and I let Michelle and her friends make fun of him endlessly without ever thinking about his feelings, just so I would fit in with the cool crowd of the school.

Why was I trying to fit in so much? I knew those senior girls were nothing but shallow trouble the minute they came up to me at school when I moved back to Japan. The only reason they paid attention to a sophomore like me was because I had lived in New York, and if I hadn't they would have dropped me like a fashionable stone a long time ago. The girls I was trying to impress so much weren't my real friends, and the friends that I used to have probably wouldn't even speak to such a cold-hearted bitch like me.

I sighed. This was making me way too depressed. I don't want to think about this any more.

Roger, who was keeping himself busy with kissing my neck, suddenly stopped and looked up at me, his blue eyes filled with concern. It must have been one of those suave tactics he used to get girls in bed with him that June told me about earlier. "Babe, you don't look into this," he said. My face must have been obviously showing how my mind was on something else besides Roger. "Is anything wrong?"

I wanted to tell him everything. I wanted to say that I hated being mean to me real friends and how much I despised the giggling seniors who pretended to be my friends. I wanted to tell him about Joe, the great, old friend who I dumped just to go with this male bimbo who had his hands all over me. I wanted to tell him how I hated his hands all over me. I wanted to break down and tell him how just about everything in my life was going wrong...especially how the gymnasium lights were making my neon yellow dress look like the color of vomit.

I looked at him, my caramel eyes meeting his aqua ones, and gave him a plastic smile. "Nothing's wrong, Roger," I said in a mock cheerful tone, as I tried to ignore his hands that were once again creeping up on my ass. "It's just..."

I let my mind wander a bit, thinking about my friends once again, and my gaze turned from Roger's endlessly blue eyes to Sora and Tai, who were sitting a few seats away from us in the recesses of the gym and looking pretty cozy themselves. Tai, who, for some strange reason, wasn't wearing as much hair gel as he usually did back when I knew him, gave a disapproving look in my direction, his hand on Sora's shoulder. He was never much of a fan of public displays of affection, especially when it came to his friends.

His friends...

"Oh," Roger said, in a more serious tone. "I see." He's caught me looking in Tai and Sora's direction, and my head snapped back, never letting Roger see the worried frown on my face. Roger put his sly, seductive smile on once more, and pulled me closer in to his body. "Wandering eyes distracting you?" he asked with a smirk. I only giggled and shrugged stupidly in response; the typical airhead answer. It was what he wanted anyway, wasn't it?

After my answer, Roger promptly picked me up by the waist and hoisted me off his lap, much to my surprise. I looked back at him with a shocked expression, but still he was taking his sweet time with explaining himself. Roger yawned, stretched his arms out above his head, and gave me a smile a Leomon has right after it eats the Piximon whole.

I shirked back from that smile. It didn't seem so friendly to me.

Roger stood up, his fashionable khakis and navy blue suit jacket fitting him like a glove. "If spying eyes are bothering you," he said in his sexiest voice, the one that really gets my blood going every time he uses it. I wonder if he uses that voice with every girl he wants to get in bed with... "then I'll take you away from the spying eyes."

Snaking an arm around my waist protectively, Roger began to usher me away from the dark corner of the gym and towards the west exit, away from the main entrance of the dance. Returning to my ditzy cheerleader persona - the one that Roger seemed to like the best - I twirled my strawberry pink hair around my index finger and looked up at him with big doe eyes. "Where are we going?" I asked, my voice sounding even more bubbly than usual.

Roger smiled without looking me in the eyes. "The bleachers," he said, meaning the bleachers of the high school's soccer field that lay right outside of the gym. I hadn't even been there yet in the month I had been attending Odaiba High. There was no reason for me to walk by there during school hours, and I would only have an awkward encounter with the rest of the DigiDestined if I ever went to a soccer game, knowing that both Tai and Davis were on the school's soccer team. "It'll be much quieter there, and plus..." Roger leaned down and whispered breathily in my ear, enticing me to no end. "...we'll have some time to be all alone."

I looked up at him and matched his sly smile with my own, and I giggled as we slipped out of the gym, unnoticed, towards the soccer field. I felt like an airhead when I giggled like that - even worse, I felt like one of Michelle's stupid giggling friends. But it was what Roger wanted, and it was what was expected of me. In the group I was in, there weren't supposed to be any independent thinkers, or anyone that would dare threaten the authority of the leader, who just happened to be that witch Michelle. We were just supposed to support her selfish and vicious acts, and be her low-IQ lackeys. I hated it. I had never been a lackey before - not when I went to Odaiba Elementary, not when I moved to New York - and I didn't want to start now. I wasn't going to suppress my own identity or my own ideas just for Michelle and the "cool crowd."

I looked up at Roger, fascinated at how his dark blue eyes matched the color of the twilight sky perfectly, and giggled, thinking about all the fun we were going to have by ourselves over at the bleachers.

But being someone else just for tonight couldn't possibly hurt.

> **8:27 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High - Gymnasium**

****Joe

I sneezed violently, for what seemed like the umpteenth time that night, as I hugged the edges of the happy crowd on the dance floor, making sure not to get too close to the hordes of giggling girls cramming themselves at Matt's feet. I was highly allergic to cheap perfume, and from the way those girls reeked of it, it seemed like they bathed in it last night. If I got too close to the stage, then - to listen to the incredibly loud music that I didn't really like anyway - my throat would close, my lungs would collapse, and I might just die.

Considering how boring and depressing this night had already been, death would have been a pleasure.

I was alone here at the dance. Truly, definitely alone. Wasn't I the most pathetic individual on the face of the earth? I looked over at the refreshments tables; I was avoiding them the entire night mostly because I didn't want to intrude upon Izzy and his blind date, but also because nearly everything in the sandwiches the Dance Committee made makes me break out in hives. I saw Izzy chatting it up with a red-haired girl in a flouncy navy blue dress, and I assumed that was his blind date, though with the way they were seeming to get along, it would look like they were friends for years to any passersby.

There. That settles it. If Izzy has found a girl at the Youth Day Dance, then I really am the most pathetic person on earth.

What was even worse was that, up until a few minutes ago, Mimi and her sad excuse for brain cells boyfriend of hers had been going at it in a dark corner of the gymnasium, and it didn't look like they were coming up for air any time soon. Mimi and Roger Ohtori really do seem like the perfect high school couple; the fashion plate and the jock, arm in arm, lip to lip...so to speak. Mimi sure did seem happy with Roger, I reflected, as I sneezed once again, even though the big, muscular and stupid template Roger fit into wasn't typically her type. Although, I might be a bit biased; I'm the one who wants tall, lanky, and a bit geeky-looking to be her type.

I know I said I wanted to forget about Mimi Tachikawa, and to get on with my life, since she obviously didn't care about me, or even think about me anymore. But there was still a part of me that wanted to believe that she hadn't changed in all those years she was away from Japan, and away fro me. I still want to believe she was the innocent, beautiful ten year old that learned how to earn her Crest of Sincerity and understood the meaning of true friendship, so that, maybe, she'd come back to me one day - come back to all of us - and be the Mimi I remembered.

But then I come to my senses. Mimi _isn't_ the girl I met in summer camp six years ago. She's different...she's changed, maybe not for the better, but she's changed, nonetheless. I wasn't a part of her life anymore, and it looks like she wouldn't care if I was.

I felt my chest get tight, and it wasn't over emotion about Mimi Tachikawa. The perfume smell in the air was getting to me, and I knew that if I didn't get out of there - and soon - they would be wheeling me out on a stretcher instead.

Scanning the gymnasium, I caught sight of the western exit, that I knew from many asthma attacks during gym class lead directly to the soccer field. Ah; now that's what I needed. Some fresh air.

Making a beeline for the door, I glanced back in the direction where Mimi and Roger were sitting only moments before, and was surprised to see the spot vacant.

I wonder where they went.


	20. Youth Day

Okay, I just want to say that I REALLY hate fanfiction.net. I doubt that, after I finish The Dance, I'll post the sequel here on the boards. You'll have to go to my private website for that, which can be found on my author profile page. The only reason I'm continuing this sotry on fanfiction.net is that it hurts me too much to leave a story on this site unfinished, and I'm not going to just up and delete the whole thing. So, here goes. I've gotten ahead because of ff.n's delays, so get ready with those reviews!

* * *

**8:39 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Shinohara Cemetery**

Ken

I munched quietly on the peanut butter and watercress sandwich I had brought from home, as I sat on the sodden ground before my brother's grave. Beside me lay my bookbag - the one I've had since I was a child, since Sam had died - and the apple slices my cautious mother gave to me. On my other side was the dark blue fuzzy sweater; my mother was right, and it was unseasonably cold, but I wanted to embrace the biting wind as it chilled me, on this night of all nights. I wanted it to envelop my body with cold until I myself felt dead.

I had placed another candle, along with a black-framed picture of Sam, at the foot of his gravestone, the flame burning tall and bright. These ceremonies were like second nature to me; for the four years after it happened, I had always come here, alone, to remember my brother, and to scorn the day I lost him forever.

"Wanna bite?" I asked politely to the tombstone. I held out my sandwich and waited until I was sure there was no reply. I always waited until there was no chance that a voice beside me wouldn't criticize the odd peanut butter and watercress pairing in my sandwich and call me "weird," like Sam had always done. Then, I could be sure Sam wasn't still with me...crazy as that sounds.

Bringing the sandwich back up to my lips, I continued to speak to the wind...or to anyone who would listen. "Mom made me the apple slices," I said. I smiled, and blushed. "She's always so protective of me. Ever since..." The smile faded from my face. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and a lump forming in my throat. "...ever since you died."

I grew silent; solemn. I had said it; I had said Sam had died. I could probably count the numbers of times I had admitted Sam was gone on one hand. I've heard that it's supposed to be a sign of progress if I do admit it, but whenever I do, it never feels all that cleansing or progressive. My head had dropped, and I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks. I tried to hold them back, but...but it was too much. My brother...this was my brother. In the ground. How did I think I was going to come here and not cry?

"The dance was tonight, Sam," I whispered once I calmed down. I reached up to brush my fingers over Sam's name, and a chilling shudder passed through my body. "Mom didn't want me to go...not that I could blame her..." I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but it just wouldn't go away. "I wouldn't even go if I was forced to."

Talking about going to the Youth Day Dance made me think of Yolei. On Monday, she had seemed to excited when she asked me to go with her to the dance, and I let her down. I didn't feel like I was doing the best I could to win over her confidence as her DigiDestined teammate; on the contrary, with the way I reacted to her asking, she now probably thinks - or even knows - I have something to hide. What was I trying to do? I wanted to convince the rest of the DigiDestined that I could be one of them, but by not going to the dance I was just alienating everyone.

The wind blew past me as I reflected in silence, and I heard the sound of a small boy crying in my mind. My eyes clouded over again. I was remembering myself, five years ago, when I had first heard about Sam's death. I cried for weeks, and no one could comfort me. I had lost more then just my brother, and more than just my friend. I had lost my innocence that one May the sixteenth, when my little world caved in on itself. At that time, I thought life was forever - I would be happy, and healthy, with my brother, and nothing would ever change that. But then that Youth Day came along, and I was suddenly...vulnerable. Youth Day forever puts the fear of death into me...and reminds me that nothing, nothing, is forever.

The memory passed, and I began to reflect on other times - happier times - with my brother, but the faint crying was just not going away. My mind suddenly became alert, and I focused my attentions on the cemetery around me, and not on this one headstone. That crying was definitely coming from a voice in the cemetery, and not in my head. There was someone else in this cemetery with me, and it sure didn't sound like the night watchman.

Looking around with keen eyes, I slowly raised myself to my feet, my peanut butter and watercress sandwich still gripped in my hands. I didn't see anyone near me...but that crying had to be coming from somewhere. I walked around a bit, scanning past graves and mausoleums, searching for the source of the cries. It wasn't so much that I wanted to find this person, mind you; there was nothing I would have wanted more than to ignore the crying and get back to my brother. But the fact that this person's crying made me remember my own pain and despair over my brother's death forced me to find out just who this person was. I was compelled to figure this out, if not for some supernatural feeling I was getting from the cries, which I didn't believe in anyway, then for the sheer curiosity of my mind.

Walking only twenty paces to the right, I saw a flash of purple over one of the cemetery's hills. As I walked towards it, the crying became louder; I was definitely getting closer to the source. As I reached the hill, determined now to figure this out, I discovered the cries were coming from a small boy, kneeling next to one of the thousands of marble graves in the field.

I gasped in surprise behind the boy. This wasn't an ordinary kid.

Gathering up my courage, I found my voice and whispered,

"Cody?"

**8:45 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High - Gymnasium**

_Davis_

I checked my Digivice for the time for the fifth time in three minutes, only to see the disappointing flashing numbers **8:45** and not **10:30**, when I would finally be able to escape this hell hole and take Yolei home.

This was worse than hell. I would prefer all the Dark Masters that Tai and the others told us about crashed the party and killed us all, rather than stay here, listening to Matt's band play one corny love song after another, nursing my fourth glass of punch and being labeled as a wallflower.

I thought that maybe, I'd have some fun at this dance. When I saw Yolei looking so nice tonight, I thought that she would at least dance one song with the guy who brought her here...not like I would care, or anything. But ever since we walked into the gym, all decked out in bright streamers and spotlights, she left to go off with some of her friends and I haven't even seen her around.

It was all for the better, anyway. This gave me some time to think...about what the hell was going through my mind about Yolei. I knew what the terms of this date were when I said yes, and I agreed with them wholeheartedly. Yesterday, I would've said that the more time I spent away from Yolei, the better. But tonight...

I didn't know why I was thinking differently now, but I was. Maybe it was seeing Yolei actually look like a girl - a beautiful girl, too - that made me change my mind about her. Maybe it was because I was actually beginning to like her...or that there was the possibility, that spark I saw in her eyes that night, that she might actually like me. I really didn't know, and from the looks of it, it looked like I was never going to know. Not tonight, anyway.

Looking down at my near-empty glass of red punch, I sneered at my own fuchsia reflection. What kind of a pushover was I being tonight? Since when did me, Davis Motomiya, let a girl - especially Yolei - boss me around? Yolei said that she didn't want me around her at the dance if I was to take her here, but since when did I ever listen to what I was told? Actually, _I_ was the one doing the favor for _her_. It wasn't like she had a date to the dance before me, anyway. And besides, I wasn't here for her. I was here as a favor to Izzy, hoping that he'll keep up his end of the bargain and help me pass trigonometry this year. It wasn't like I _liked_ her or anything.

I sighed, my reflection in the punch glass not even believing me. Yeah, right; if I didn't like Yolei Inoue, then why did my stomach feel like it was doing scissor kicks whenever I glanced over at her delicate face and bare shoulders in the ride over here? Then why was I feeling so bummed about not spending any time with her at the dance? If I didn't feel anything for Yolei, then why did I want to just shoot straight out of my seat, throw the foul-tasting punch away forever, and march right over to where Yolei was standing and...

Before I knew it, my legs were moving, and the sight of Yolei's lavender hair and white dress was getting larger; closer. My mind kicked into a state of panic. Was I actually walking up to her? I tried to get my legs to turn around, and stop what would surely be a death sentence carried out by Yolei if I confronted her, in front of all her friends, but my whole body just didn't seem to wanna listen to me, and in a matter of seconds I had crossed the crowded dance floor, passed the refreshments table, and stood smack in front of Yolei Inoue.

Who looked very, very pissed.

"Davis," she said in an annoyed tone, her eyes narrowing with disgust. "What in the hell are you doing here? I thought I told you -"

"Yolei." My voice was surprisingly stern and strong, and even through the heavy drum beats of the Teenage Wolves, Yolei heard the seriousness in my voice, and stopped speaking. Her eyes widened in confusion and shock, her slender arms once placed sternly on her waist now falling gracefully to her sides. Her friends around her stopped their tittering chatter, and all eyes were on me and Yolei, wondering what I'd do next.

I held out my hand, an informal invitation to Yolei. My eyes never left hers, and I spoke in a commanding voice. "Dance with me," I said. My head was swimming. I didn't know how to dance; I had no rhythm at all. Even with all probability on my side, I'd probably step on her toes if I even tried to dance. But even still, I was serious about this. I wasn't just going to leave this opportunity to go to waste.

My heart nearly stopped beating out of shock when Yolei actually accepted my invitation, placing her ungloved hand in mine, with some hesitation. We both looked down at our hands, now touching (giving off an odd feeling of tingles throughout my body), and then looked back up - our eyes met again. Looking deep into Yolei's eyes, I saw something that wasn't there before - through them, I saw a different Yolei that I never noticed so many times in the Digiworld. Yolei was no longer the tomboy-ish computer nerd twelve year old I remembered when I first met her three years ago; she was now fifteen, almost a woman, and, in my eyes, amazingly beautiful. Why did it take me so long to notice how much she's changed?

Yolei nodded her head once, her mind seeming to be thinking of something else besides the bad lyrics to Matt's latest song blasting through the gym. "Okay, then," she said, blinking, as if in a daze. She wasn't the only one; even I couldn't believe what I had just done. "Let's go dance."

Gently gripping her hand in mine, I gave out the tiniest of smiles as I led Yolei Inoue, the girl I never thought I would fall for, out onto the dance floor.


	21. Youth Day

* * *

**8:46 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High - Gymnasium**

June

"You've got to be kidding me!" I threw my head back and laughed, as Izzy Izumi, my latest acquaintance and so far the only person to talk to me at the Youth Day Dance, looked on with an amused smirk on his face. "I honestly don't know any guy that reads Shakespeare when he doesn't have to, and not to impress a girl. I just don't believe you're a Shakespeare fan."

Izzy shrugged, and replied, "Believe it or not, that's who I am. I really did start reading it to impress girls..." He blushed a deep red that matched the fiery color of his hair, and I smiled. I liked it when guys got embarrassed, especially this one. "...but I started liking it myself. Now I'm just in love with the words of the Bard."

I looked at him askance. It was time to test out just how much he knew about Shakespeare. "_If I profane with my unworthiest hand, this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this; my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand..._"

"_...To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss._" Izzy finished, without missing a beat. A warm grin spread across his lips. "_Romeo & Juliet_, Act two, scene one. Anyone who doesn't know that can't possibly say they like Shakespeare." I nodded with a smile; I didn't think that he was telling the truth. Obviously, I had gotten this boy all wrong. "I'm just surprised you didn't quote from the balcony scene."

I gave Izzy a seductive smile, and, reaching forward, I brushed the tips of my fingers against the heavy cotton of his suit jacket. "The night is still young, _ne_, Izzy?" I asked, and chuckled inwardly as I saw him gulp with nervousness. "There are a lot of things I might do before Youth Day is over."

I had been talking with Izzy for almost an hour now, and I was surprised at how fun and interesting the conversation had been. Almost without skipping a beat, we chatted about nearly anything and everything that came to mind: the loud, neo-J-Rock music Matt and his band were playing (geez, I can't believe I once liked that kind of music!), the decorations of the dance (supplied by the dance committee, chaired by yours truly), and even that mystery meat in the cafeteria that they serve on Thursdays. It felt so good to just talk to a guy and not have to worry about what he thinks of me, or if he's interested in what I have to say. It's such a fresh difference from Roger Ohtori...Izzy actually cares about what I have to say. And since it looks like I've been stood up by whoever Sora tried to hook me up with, there's nothing stopping me from talking to him all night.

Unless it's not the talking I'm interested in.

"Well, you might like Shakespeare," I changed the subject, seeing how nervous the topic of conversation was getting for Izzy - or, more accurately, how I was blatantly flirting with him - and put on a warm, inviting smile. "but I just can't understand how you like classical music. I mean, bore-fest!" I yawned to prove my point. "What normal sixteen year old boy listens to Mozart, and stuff like that? I should get you to listen to some American pop music. You know...LFO? Michelle Branch? Ever heard of them?" I frowned as Izzy shook his head no. "You'll get hooked the minute you hear them, I swear."

Izzy gave me a sly smile. "So, if you want me to listen to this music of yours," he said, taking a step closer to me and filling the space between our bodies, "does that mean you want to see me again?" I giggled and felt my own cheeks blush bright red as he carefully wrapped an arm around my tulle-fitted waist and looked me in the eyes. Having Izzy so close to me, his dark, mysterious eyes looking straight into my soul, I felt something that wasn't there before. It was a sensation that I don't think I've ever felt before; a least, not like this. It was electricity. There was definitely some sort of electricity between us, even though besides Shakespeare, Izzy and me had absolutely nothing in common. We didn't like the same music, the same style, and with extracurricular activities, we were complete opposites. I mean, tennis team members and computer club presidents just don't mix. But then, why were tingles running down my spine when he touched me like this?

"Besides," he continued. "I really enjoy listening to classical music. There's nothing like a sonata by Bach on a cold night, or an energetic overture by Beethoven. I think that, if you listened to my music, you'd get hooked."

I giggled. "Does that mean you want to see me again, too?" I asked seductively. Izzy, who, it seemed, had long gotten over being embarrassed with my flirting (since he was doing so much of it himself), pulled me in even closer to him, and flashed a toothy grin. "Classical music might be good for helping to fall asleep," I said coyly, eliciting a roll of the eyes from Izzy, "but there's one thing I know about it, and it's that you can't dance to it." Izzy gave me a pointed look. "Who says you can't dance to it?" "Me." He laughed, and retorted, 'You just don't know what real dancing is. It's not a big flailing of limbs or jerking around your body mechanically. It's -" "Hey," I cut him off mid-sentence, as I heard the Teenage Wolves begin to play a very uncharacteristic slow song. There was a heavy piano solo starting up, and it hardly sounded like Matt's guitar was playing at all. Giving Izzy a smile that nearly gave away that I had something wicked up my sleeve, I said, "So you say you can dance to this boring, ho-hum slow music?" Izzy nodded. "I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true," he replied. "Well then," I said mischievously. Taking his arm around my waist and holding his hand in my own, I began to lead Izzy away from the security of the refreshments table and nearly had to drag him towards the dance floor, already packed with young couples dancing close to each other. "Now you're gonna have to prove it!" 

* * *

**8:47 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High - Gymnasium**

**Yolei**

I stood in the middle of the gym floor, swaying my body back and forth to a fast-paced song in a useless attempt to look like I knew how to dance. I couldn't believe I was actually dancing with Davis. Isn't this just the kind of thing I was trying to guard against tonight? On Tuesday I was repulsed by the thought of even being seen with the wannabe-jock, let alone dance with him. But now that I'm here, on the dance floor, watching him make an absolute fool of himself, I can't see why I was so against this yesterday. I mean, would I ever pass up the chance to see Davis act like an ass? And besides, he wasn't that bad of a dancer. He hasn't done anything stupid, like stepping on my toes or anything.

_Crunch._

Ouch. I stand corrected.

Davis wrinkled his brow in repentance. "Sorry," he said over the music. "I'm not that good of a dancer."

"You're better than me," I reassured him, accidentally stumbling into someone on my left to prove it. I couldn't help smile when Davis's lips broke out into a grin. This wasn't that bad. I mean, it wasn't _terrible_. There were definitely worse things I could be doing, like waxing nostalgia with my sisters at home or feeling sorry for myself at the dance, alone. Maybe I was wrong about going with Davis being a total waste of time. Davis or not, I was having fun.

Just then, the fast-paced sing came to an end, and a slow, soft-sounding tune floated through the air. Students stopped their carefree dancing and paired together into couples around us on the dance floor.

Okay, fun time's over. Time to panic.

Davis and I stood awkwardly in the middle of the floor, unsure of what to do. I mean, slow dance? With Davis? Sure, I was having fun dancing with before, but that was different. There wasn't any pressure; we could act like idiots and get away with it, and there definitely wasn't and touching involved with the dancing we were doing before. I didn't want to stop, though; as incredible as it sounds, I was having fun with Davis, and I truthfully didn't want it to end so soon.

I looked around at the happy couples dancing all around us. "Oh," was all I could muster, my face forming a disappointed frown.

Davis gave me a sympathetic look, and shoved his hands self-consciously into his pockets. Hmmm, that's strange; I don't think I've ever seen him self-conscious before, except when he's around Kari. "Um, you know," he said. "We don't have to do this...if you don't want to. We could just..."

"No!" I blurted out; perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. I smiled warmly, taking a step towards him, closing the already small gap between us. "It's okay," I said, softer this time. Nervously, I took the initiative, and placed my hands on his shoulders awkwardly. I had never really had a slow dance with a guy before...except for my geekazoid of a brother at weddings...but that doesn't count. Not like this.

Davis responded with a long, shaky breath, and with his arms wrapping around my waist. It felt like his hands were trembling. He pulled me closer, making any space between us disappear. I felt like I was holding my breath the entire time. There were butterflies sprouting in my stomach, and I could swear, if I hadn't passed on the punch earlier, I'd be throwing up right now.

And so the dance began.

We stood there, swaying slightly to the music, barely moving. My eyes were glued to Davis's face, half out of fear, half out of interest. I wasn't hating this. Why wasn't I hating this? I knew I was a bit boy-crazed - I was told about it enough times of the day by Davis - but I had always fallen for guys of the...well, cerebral type, like Izzy and Ken. I never fell for guys like...well, guys like Davis: conceited, obnoxious, annoying. Davis was the poster child for guys like that. So why wasn't I hating being with him?

Wait; did I just say I was falling for him?

"You're pretty quiet," Davis interrupted my thoughts, his hands still trembling at my sides. "That's not like you."

He was right. It wasn't like me not to voice my thoughts; but then again, I wasn't going to tell Davis about how I might possibly have the inclination to start liking him. "I was just thinking," I said instead, loosening up a little when I saw the fear in his eyes as well. Good. I wasn't the only one. "that this isn't terrible."

Davis chuckled. "Well, Matt's band can be pretty bad at times."

Trying not to roll my eyes at the sheer density of Davis's brain, I responded, "No, _baka_," I meant in the sincerest possible way. "I mean dancing with you. It's not terrible. Actually..." I smiled, and blushed. "...it's kinda nice."

Davis returned the smile, and pulled me closer to him, his hands not shaking as much anymore. A day ago - heck, maybe even an hour ago - I would have slapped his face and pushed myself away, but tonight, I...I think I liked it. "I'm glad," he said, a goofy, dream-like grin spreading across his face, a grin I had never seen before from Davis. "I thought going to the dance together would be the worst mistake we could ever make."

"So did I," I said truthfully while shamelessly losing myself in Davis's persistent gaze. "But I guess I misjudged you. You've really matured over the years." I smiled slyly. "You're no longer as annoying as you look, Davis Motomiya."

Just then, the slow, rhythmic stopped - quite suddenly, I might add - and there was a hushed murmur throughout the crowd about the absence of tunes. I wasn't paying attention to any of it, though, because it was at that moment that Davis decided to kiss me. He leaned in, pulling me so close to him that our foreheads were nearly touching. I watched his eyes flutter and close, as his lead with his lips, which came closer, and closer, to mine...

What the hell was I doing???

This was Davis. Davis, the guy I couldn't stand for three straight years. Davis, the one who nearly made me throw up when he asked me to the Youth Day Dance. Davis, the guy who wears a pair of beat-up, old goggles and still blames his smell on Demiveemon.

But then again, there's Davis: Davis, the guy who actually did ask me to the dance, and didn't have to format his hard drive tonight. Davis, the one who didn't pull away when I demanded the corsage, the suit, and all the conditions to go with him to the dance. Davis, the guy I didn't have to chase after to get him to notice me; he was the one who went after me.

Maybe falling for Davis isn't so bad after all.

Pulling my arms closer around Davis's neck, I braced myself for his kiss. But just then, as I glanced past Davis's shoulder momentarily, I saw something that I'd never thought I'd see at the Youth Day Dance.

It was Izzy.

He was on the dance floor.

Kissing another girl.

I gasped, my heart instantly dropping and shattering on the floor. Didn't he say he couldn't go to the dance with me tonight? Didn't he say he had something important to do instead? Didn't he...

Did he just lie to me?

"Oh my God," I whispered, barely audibly, the welling tears in my eyes threatening to erupt. How could he do this? I thought Izzy was a nice guy. I thought he was better than that. How could such an intelligent and cultured guy be so inconsiderate about others' feelings?

"Yolei?" Davis opened his eyes, feeling my tension in the air - and on my tightened grip on his shoulders. His brow creased in confusion, and he looked genuinely worried. "What's wrong?"

I didn't look at him, or even answer; my eyes and my mind were transfixed on Izzy's lip-lock only thirty feet away from us. Davis saw that my attention wasn't on him or his question, and followed my gaze over his shoulder to see what was the problem. "Oh, shit," he mumbled, trying to make his voice low enough for me not to hear.

Seeing Davis distracted and looking away, I took the chance to break away from his arms, in a fury of pain and confusion, and I ran, pushing past the stationary couples on the dance floor. I wiped at my eyes, hoping my contacts wouldn't flood and fall out; then, not only would my heart have been lost on that dance floor, but my eyesight as well.

"Yolei, wait!" I heard Davis yell after me, but I didn't stop or even look back at the boy who almost kissed me. I only kept running, making a beeline for the gym's Eastern exit, which lead out into one of the many winding hallways of Odaiba High. I kept running, running away from the confusion of my dance with Davis, and the pain of Izzy's lies. I just ran.


	22. The plot thickens...

**The Dance**

_back by popular demand!_

Wow! I can't believe the review turnout in the past few weeks. You guys have sent me on a writing spree - I hope to be done with the entire series by April. (Let's see if that happens...) This section might seem a bit fragmented, but I swear, next update, it'll make a whole lot more sense.

**8:46 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High - Gymnasium**

**_Izzy_**

I broke away from the kiss that took my breath away, and opened my eyes to see a pleasantly surprised June looking back at me.

"Well, that was something," she said seductively, wrapping her arms around my neck and smiling.

"I'll say," I whispered back, and leaned in to hungrily kiss her lips once more. 

I couldn't believe what I had just done. If you told me an hour ago, when I was dumped and lonely over at the refreshments table, that I would not be lonely for long, I would never believe it. But, here I was, on the middle of the dance floor, with June in my arms, swaying to the slow music emanating from the speakers, and now, I could believe it. I didn't much care now that my blind date never showed up tonight; after all, if the blind date Sora fixed up for me forked out, I would have never met June...June... 

...did I even pick up her last name? 

I still don't know what possessed me to just go and kiss her like that. Maybe it was the heat of the moment, there was just something romantic in the air that just made the kiss feel right. I saw her as we were dancing, her head resting a bit uncomfortably on my shoulder - oh, the trials of being painfully short! - and her lips just looked so inviting I simply had to kiss them. We didn't even notice when the music abruptly stopped, and I pretended that I didn't hear Davis run after a crying Yolei out of the gymnasium. It wasn't my problem tonight. Only this was on my mind. 

"_You kiss by the book,_" she breathed, as we parted from year another kiss and I retrieved my tongue from inside her mouth. I smiled, and blushed. What else could I do? 

June brought up yet another quote from Shakespeare, and it made me feel uneasy. June and I both loved Shakespeare, but apart from that - and the fact that we were both stood up on Youth Day - we really didn't have much in common. She was the athletic type; I was a brain. She spends her time in the student council and dance committee, and the only way I served my community was by...well, saving the world. June's the kind of girl who would probably want to go to parties on Fridays nights, and I would never think of doing something like that; I have homework, after all. 

What was I doing kissing this girl? I had never done something like this unless I knew the person very well - and I don't want to hear any jokes about Joe Kido! - and I have only known June for an hour. I don't even know her last name. Why was I going and kissing this girl that I hardly even know? 

"Izzy, it's getting a little rowdy in here," June said, noting the angry couples shouting around us about the lost music. She pulled me closer to her and smiled at me seductively. "Is that somewhere we can go that's a little more...secluded?" 

Hey, maybe I'll be going farther than just kissing this girl I hardly know. 

My eyes widened. "Y-you mean..." I drifted off, letting June's sly smile and nodding head finish my thought for me. She was definitely looking for a place where we could be alone, to do only June knows what. I gulped. We were moving just way too fast! I had only met June an hour ago, and already, she was asking to be alone with me! I should stop this right now. I should tell her that she is a very nice girl, and this has nothing to do with her or her charming personality, but I'm just not ready to get too involved right now. A simple thanks, but no thanks. 

Yeah, and then I can seal myself back up in my computer room, and never get a chance like this to be with a girl again. Not for years, anyway. And I'm not ready to wait that long to get laid. 

I matched her seductive smile, and took her hand from my shoulder to quickly lead her off of the dance floor and towards the Northern exit, two heavy gymnasium doors that led to an auxiliary staircase to the second floor. I didn't really know where to go to be alone, but I took a guess Yolei didn't take this exit when she stormed out of here, and if there was one thing I didn't want tonight, I didn't want to run into a frantic Yolei Inoue with June on my arm. 

June giggled as I pulled her through the doors into the empty stairwell, stopping only to give her a heated kiss on her lips. "Well, this is all pretty unexpected," she said. "I didn't expect you to be so..." she licked her lips and pulled me closer to her. I sucked in a big breath through my teeth as my body pressed against hers. She knew what she was doing to me. "...spontaneous." 

With a wink and a tug on her wrist, I led her upstairs to the second floor corridor with great excitement. I knew where I wanted to take her new. "My dear June," I said seductively. "I'm just full of surprises." 

June and I nearly ran through the second floor corridor, the excitement building up within both of us. I couldn't believe I was doing this! This definitely wasn't like me. But then again, being the old, computer nerd Izzy Izumi wasn't getting me the action I was going to get tonight! 

When we finally reached the room I was taker her to, June scrunched her face up in confusion and disgust, as I simple stood there, smiling at my own ingenuity. "The computer room?" she said critically of my choice to be alone. "You expect us to do it in the computer room?" 

I pitched her a wink as I opened the door - I love how Odaiba High's classrooms are kept unlocked - and ushered her in. "It's a surprise," I said, entering the room without turning on the light. We wouldn't be there for long, anyway. 

Knowing my way around the computer room - hell, I'd been in there so many times I bet I could navigate it...well, in the dark - I sat myself down at a computer - one particular computer, actually - and turned it on, smiling as I heard the familiar Windows 2000 music chime. I accessed a program - a very special program only I and a select few others even knew existed - and hoped that my archaic Digivice would still work. 

"Um, Izzy," June's voice behind me sounded annoyed. "When I said I wanted to somewhere secluded, I didn't mean to play computer games." 

"Hold your horses, June," I said, typing furiously. I needed to get the program ready, but quickly enough so that June didn't get a sudden change of heart. I pressed the Enter key to load the program code, and turned around in the chair to face her. Taking her hand in both of my own, I said to her, "And trust me. You won't regret this." I raised my hand to touch her face, and she leaned in to my touch, her hot skin against my fingertips, and sighed, contented. 

God, I've never had anyone do that with me in the same room. 

Unhooking my Digivice from my belt with one hand, the other still in contact with June's face, I held the device up to the computer screen. I had a theory about the new status of the Digiworld since we had defeated Arukenimon and out DigiDestined services were no longer required: if our Digivices worked for the original DigiDestined even after three years and our last battle with Piedmon, then all of our Digivices should still work today. I hadn't told my theory to anyone yet, even Joe, who always loves my theories, or Ken, who would be more than eager to explore this theory with me, nor had I tested my theory myself. This would be the first time any of us had entered the Digiworld in three years. I just hoped I was wrong about the rule of "One person per Digivice..." 

Smiling, I whispered, "Digiport open." 

I wasn't disappointed. 

With a flash of blue light, the room filled with energy, and the dusty old Digiport opened wide after so many years of inactivity. I held on fast to June's hand, feeling the shock and anxiety building up inside of her by the second. She probably thought the world was ending and swallowing us whole. She had never seen anything like this before; to me, it was second nature. 

"It's okay," I said softly to her. She gasped slightly in fright, on hand hovering over her agape, startled mouth, trembling slightly, while the other gripped tightly around my fingers, refusing to let go. With a sincere smile, I pulled us closer to the computer screen, and led the girl into the Digital World. 

It was twilight in the sky; the clouds burned with a purplish light, and the stars had just begun to rise. Great trees that would never be found in a horticulture book loomed all around us, and unique pink flowers reminiscent of Palmon's head sprang up to greet us at our feet. We were in a small clearing near the Forest of Irrelevant Road Signs (as Matt had so bluntly dubbed it) on File Island; I picked the location specifically for its unique beauty. I thought it was the best place for June to explore this new land...among other things. 

I looked over at June, whose face looked like she was deciding whether to comment on the plant life or scream. Finally, she mustered up the courage to squeak out, "Izzy?" She gripped tighter on my hand, her other hand holding onto my arm. "Where are we?" 

I looked convincingly into her eyes and smiled. "June," I said, trying to make this sound as extravagant as possible. "Welcome to the Digiworld."

**8:47 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High - Gymnasium**

**Tai**

I held Sora close in my arms, slowly swaying to the slow music I could hear playing in the background. The way background. Because right now, as far as I was concerned, Sora was my world, and everything else was merely filler.

"This is so nice," Sora sighed, pulling herself in closer to me. Resting her head on my shoulder, I couldn't help but agree with her, tem times over. Being here, with her in my arms...it all just felt so right.

And yet, I knew that Sora didn't completely have me on her mind. T.K.'s confession of Matt's feelings for Sora still rang in my head from Monday afternoon, and Sora's concern for Matt on the night she was supposed to be on a date with me didn't sit well in my thoughts...or my stomach. I didn't want to believe it - there was nothing I wanted more than one of those fairy-tale endings with Sora, complete with fanfare and a chivalrous riding into the sunset. But all of the signs - T.K.'s slip of the tongue, Matt's coldness towards the two of us, and most of all, Sora's own actions in the past three days - pointed to a definite storm cloud near my sunset, and that storm cloud played in a rock band.

I just wished that I could have one peaceful moment with Sora tonight without thinking about Matt Ishida screwing it all up.

And then, Sora looked up at me, her warm chestnut eyes smiling and her lips so inviting...and I hoped that this would be my chance.

"You look so beautiful tonight," I whispered into her ear, reveling in the sweet smell of her shampoo. She smiled gently, her face brightening in an anxious blush. Any other girl would have returned with a sly attempt to flirt shamelessly with me, which would have really spoiled the mood for me - flirting is well and good when you're on a first date, but even I knew when to be serious. But Sora...she was so unsure when it came to flirting or romance, yet her smile just spoke volumes more than all of the pseudo-sexy lines I've ever heard.

I tilted her head up - her face looked so sweet, so angelic! - and I knew that I couldn't take it anymore. I had to kiss her, taste those lips I've ser my eyes on since I first saw her tonight. I knew I had said before I would wait until it was the right moment to kiss her, to make it special for the both of us...but this was the right time. This was the right place.

They say that a first kiss between young lovers on Youth Day guarantees eternal love to come. I didn't know if that was true, but I was sure willing to try it out.

I just hoped she didn't think of Matt Ishida when my lips pressed against hers.

It was better than I expected. Far better than anything I ever had before. Sora's lips were so soft, and when I pressed my lips against hers, I held her closer in surprise at how amazing one simple kiss could be. I felt my heart leap when Sora sighed and responded to my kiss; wasn't this a dream come true?

When we finally parted - for we would need air eventually - I smiled joyfully, my heart skipping from the kiss. I looked into Sora's eyes, and she had the same anxiousness as I had; her eyes shined with happiness, and her lips held a smile that could be likened to a child trying futily to hold in a secret. We simply stood there, smiling and giddy, and completely not knowing what to do with ourselves.

We didn't have to worry about that for long, however. Just after our lips parted, the slow music from Matt's band onstage abruptly stopped playing, and silence filled the room. The whole of the gym looked around in astonishment; why had the band stopped playing? It almost sounded like...

"Matt!" Sora looked out towards the stage to see a quickly retreating Matt storm off the stage, his cherished guitar discarded next to his fallen microphone. Murmurs raced through the crowd, wondering why the lead singer of the Teenage Wolves stormed off like that, right in the middle of a song.

Where the hell did he go? 


	23. More to come!

**The Dance**

I know this is a little late - considering it's been about 5 months since I've last updated - but I was having a problem with schoolwork, and I'm also collaborating on a fic with my friend that's taking all the creative energy out of me. I had a rough deal in the past two weeks, where my good friend and I hooked up at our prom and then he broke up with me two days later. It made me feel so depressed that I thought of not continuing this fic for a while, but decided against it. Boys are stupid; they make me feel like Davis.

* * *

**8:50 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High - Gymnasium**

**Matt**

I couldn't believe it. I couldn't fucking believe it.

I stared out into the crowd of teenagers at my feet, all having their own problems and their own agendas - for I was sure that every single one of them on that dance floor had their own story to tell - but all that was in my mind was the young couple forty feet away from me, in an embrace so heartbreaking to me that I thought I would stop playing entirely and drop my guitar right then and there.

And, surprisingly, that's exactly what I did.

They kissed. They had kissed. They were kissing, and I couldn't take my eyes off of them. It was a beautiful thing, really: Sora looked so delicate there in the dim lights of the dance, and even from so far away I could see her eyes flutter closed with anticipation and her lips met his. I even thought I felt her breath of relief and excitement blow despairingly in my face, as she smiled unabashedly at her date.

I wanted that to be me. I wanted to be the one she liked to smile like that for. I wanted to be the one holding her so close that I could feel her heart beat through her lavender dress. Oh God, how I wanted that to be me.

The guitar slipped from my fingers before I could even notice I had stopped playing. I wasn't playing much, mind you - for most slow love songs don't require a heavy rock guitar beat - but yet it was the sound of an ear-piercing wave of feedback that caused the rest of the band to stop as well. The crowd, once dancing slowly in one large rhythmic sway, started to murmur among themselves about the sudden loss of music, and a few accusing glances glared up at me - mostly from upperclass boys who were planning to use that dance as their way of getting lucky tonight.

My eyes searched the crowd frantically - one of the few times I tore my eyes away from Sora and Tai - and decided, no, instinctually _knew_, that I had to get off that stage. I couldn't stand to be there anymore, playing those damn love songs I wrote only for her, watching like a fool as she fell in love with another boy. With a mumbled "I'm sorry," to Skids, I rushed myself off the stage. I didn't know where I was to go to escape the complete hell the Youth Day Dance had turned out to be, but all I knew was I couldn't stay one more second in a room as the odd man out.

I had no idea Tai kissing Sora could affect me this way - two days ago I had no idea Tai kissing Sora could affect me at all. But these feelings were all so strange to me, and everything I've discovered in the past two days has both intrigued me and scared the hell out of me. Why did I care so much if Tai kissed her? He was the one who was at the dance with her, and now it was painfully obvious to all of us that she truly wanted to be with him tonight, and not with me. All the facts were spread out before me, and I knew that all these feelings I had were so pointless.

And then still, the question rose up, unrelenting:_ why did I care?_

I stopped short after I pushed my way through the deserted Northern corridor doors. It hit me. The answer finally hit me.

I think I'm in love with her.

Why did I feel this way about her? Why did I still think like I had a claim to my best friend when it was obvious she did not feel the same way about me? Why did it hurt so much when I saw her with someone else? It was all making sense now; I didn't just want her because Tai had her, and I didn't just want her because she was different than any other girl I've had. I wanted her because she was Sora, and that was the only reason I wanted her. Everything about her - her smile, her bright eyes, her genuine personality - it was all just so perfect, and now I knew, that my life would never be the same if I couldn't be with her.

T.K. was right. He told me that I couldn't understand him, couldn't even begin to understand how he and Kari felt for each other, because I never loved someone like they loved each other. And maybe he was right. He was right, earlier that afternoon, when I thought my infatuation with Sora was just a stupid crush that would hopefully fizzle out in a week. But now, things were different. Seeing Sora on that dance floor with Tai, my heart broke, and I knew exactly what I had to lose when it came to Sora; I would lose her smile, her laugh, her friendship. I would lose her.

I sighed, wringing my fingers through my hair, frustrated. "I've already lost her," I said to myself pathetically.

But deep in my mind, I knew that I couldn't say I lost my Sora. I never truly had her in the first place.

**8:51 P.M.  
Wednesday 16 May  
Odaiba High**

Sora

"Matt?" I looked up at the makeshift stage quizzically. The slow, romantic melody emanating from the gym's speakers suddenly stopped, and the gym grew silent, save for the confused dancers below. Perhaps someone saw what had happened - maybe an amp blew out, for I knew that the Teenage Wolves were not the wealthiest band in Odaiba. All I knew was that one moment, I was dancing slowly with Tai, enjoying the scent of his cologne and how his hair felt without gel, and the next moment I was kissing him, and the whole Youth Day Dance just stopped.

Not metaphorically; it was then that Matt stopped playing. The Youth Day Dance really did stop.

I wonder if that kiss had anything to do with it?

Nah; it was probably something else.

On the stage, Matt seemed frozen. His eyes darted through the crowd, and beads of sweat started to form on his furrowed brow. I would think that he got sudden stage fright if I didn't know him better - Matt, for as long as I've known him, wasn't scared of anything short of a rampaging Monochromon. I had no idea what happened, but as Matt's crystal blue eyes met mine, so far away on the stage, I saw why he had stopped playing. I could see in his eyes why he dropped his guitar with an ear-piercing sound blasting through the speakers.

It was me. I could see it was about me. It was about me and Tai.

And it was then that Matt turned tail on a bewildered crowd and fled from the dance.

I had to follow him. I had this terrible feeling this all had something to do with me, and I needed to find out why. Matt had acted so strangely around me in the past few days, pushing me away and virtually breaking our friendship almost for good. I just didn't understand this; Matt had been acting like he hated me, yet he freaked out at the dance, supposedly because of me. I had to find out why he was acting so strangely, and now; if I didn't act now, I might never get a straightforward answer. I might never get an answer at all.

I absently fell out of Tai's embrace. I think he shouted, confused with my actions, but I wasn't paying much attention to it at all. My eyes were fixed on the stage, imagining the nearest gymnasium exit Matt might make a beeline to, just to get out of this room.

The North door. The stairwell to the auditorium. It would be empty, and that was where I'd find Matt.

I took off immediately, pushing determinedly through the restless teens, towards the North entrance. Vaguely, I heard Tai call back to me; I was so intent on reaching Matt that I didn't realize Tai was following me until I felt his strong hand fall firmly on my shoulder.

"Sora?" I spun around to face Tai's confused and - was that saddened? - expression looking back at me. He looked hurt; I felt terrible that I ran away from him like that. I knew that I was there at the dance with Tai tonight, and it was terrible of me to run after Matt when I knew it would hurt Tai's feelings. But something inside me compelled me, pulled me away from Tai and towards the North hallway to Matt. It was more than just my concern for a friend. I was not sure what that was, but I knew it was something more than that.

My eyes pleaded with Tai, and begged for his forgiveness of me - I couldn't say it aloud, or I'd risk the chance of crying - until I could stand no more of his saddened eyes, and continued on to the door. I truly didn't want to hurt Tai; I just hoped he would forgive me.

I made a beeline for the Northern Exit, and although I could hear Tai shouting behind me in the throng of teenage dancers, I refused to turn back. If I went back to explain this to Tai, I might never try again to find out what was wrong with Matt. I had to do this; it just couldn't wait another minute.

Pushing open the heavy doors, I realized that I knew Matt better than I thought; there he was at the Northern corridor, just as I had guessed it, and he looked completely miserable. He held his head in his hands, his slim fingers woven tightly through his golden blond hair. He paced back and forth, unaware of my presence; perhaps he had things on his mind. He looked like he was in complete turmoil - and it pained me to think that I was the cause of it.

"I've already lost her," he mumbled to himself. Was...was he talking about me? Oh, God, how I wanted to rush over to him and hug him, take those beautiful hands out of his gorgeous hair and tell him that he never did lose me, that I'm still here; that I've always been here.

Why didn't I? Was I scared? Did I still have feelings for Tai? I couldn't say; I had no idea. My heart was telling me to go over there, to be with him, but my feet just wouldn't move from their spot. I felt glued to the tiles - thank God my vocal chords still decided to work. I opened my mouth, a wave of uncertainty hitting me like the cool air of the gym, and I said,

"Matt?"

He wheeled around, startled, and looked at me, his eyes filled with unshed tears. "Sora," he said, his voice not doing a good job at masking the shock on his face. We stood there, frozen, neither of us daring to make a move.

But I had to do this now. It was now...or never.


End file.
